THE 


MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 


BEING   THE 


PATRIOTISM  AND  POLITICAL  WISDOM 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN, 

7 

AS  EXHIBITED  IN  HIS 

SPEECHES,  MESSAGES,  ORDERS,  AND  PROCLAMATIONS,  FROM  THE 

PRESIDENTIAL  CANVASS  OF  I860  UNTIL  HIS 

ASSASSINATION,  APRIL  14,  1S65. 


"  I  have  builded  a  monument  more  enduring  than  brass." — HORACE. 


NEW  YORK : 

THE    AMERICAN    NEWS    COMPANY, 
119    &    121    NASSAU   STREET. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1865,  by 
THE  AMERICAN  NEWS  COMPANY, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  tho  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the  Southern 
District  of  New  York. 


Stereotyped  by  SMITH  &  McDoUGAL,  82  &  84  Beekinan  Street 


PKEFATORY. 


A  FEW  days  after  the  assassination  of  Presi 
dent  LINCOLN,  the  publishers  of  the  present 
volume  received  the  following  letter  from  the  dis 
tinguished  gentleman  whose  name  it  bears : 

GENTLEMEN  : 

You  have  it  in  your  power  to  erect  a  monument  of  its 
own  kind  to  the  memory  of  the  President,  who,  but  a 
few  months  ago,  was  elected  by  one  of  the  greatest  na 
tional  acts  known  in  all  history,  and  has  now  been  taken 
off  by  foul  assassination,  as  the  chief  representative  of 
our  national  existence,  and  by  an  assassin  who  represents 
in  this  deed  the  ruthless  evil  against  which  we  contend. 

Collect  and  publish,  in  the  speediest  possible  manner, 
the  inaugural  and  other  addresses  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN, 
his  proclamations,  messages,  and  public  letters  ;  indeed, 
all  he  has  written  as  President,  and  you  will  contribute 
to  the  mournful  celebrations  of  the  American  people 
your  share  of  lasting  value,  and  of  far  more  impressive 
eloquence  than  the  most  fervent  orator  could  utter. 


iv  PREFATORY. 

You  would  thus  make  the  martyr  rear  his  own  monu 
ment,  which  no  years,  no  centuries  could  level  and  cause 
to  mingle  again  with  the  dust.  Your  obedient, 

FRANCIS  LIEBER. 

NEW  YOBK,  April  18th,  1865. 

In  accordance  with  this  suggestion  the  follow 
ing  pages  have  been  prepared  ;  their  object  being 
to  present  in  a  convenient  and  easily  accessible 
form,  and  with  chronological  arrangement,  the 
writings  of  which  Dr.  LIEBER  speaks  with  such 
well-merited  admiration.  But  the  editor  has  in 
cluded  in  the  collection  somewhat  more  than  all 
that  Mr.  LINCOLN  wrote  as  President.  The  pith 
of  his  remarkable  speech  delivered  at  the  Cooper 
Institute,  in  April,  1860,  all  of  his  speeches  of  any 
importance  while  he  was  President  elect,  and  other 
expressions  of  his  purposes  and  his  convictions, 
not  uttered  exactly  as  President,  will  be  found  in 
the  collection,  which  is  well  worth  the  thoughtful 
perusal  of  every  citizen  of  the  Republic. 


THE   MARTYR'S   MONUMENT. 


INTRODUCTORY. 

THE  memory  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  is  now  fresh  in 
the  hearts  of  his  countrymen.  It  is  hardly  a  memory. 
The  grass  which  we  would  keep  ever  green  has  not  yet 
had  time  to  spring  upon  his  grave.  But  already  we  are 
taking  measures  to  erect  monuments  which  will  preserve 
that  memory,  and  show  the  honor  in  which  we  hold  it  to 
after  generations.  This  is  right,  and  proper,  and  becom 
ing ;  but  it  is  almost  superfluous.  The  name  and  the 
fame  of  him  ^who  fell  by  an  assassin's  hand,  a  martyr  to 
his  devotion  to  his  country,  to  the  duties  of  his  high 
office,  a-nd  to  his  conviction  that  ic  if  slavery  is  not  wrong 
nothing  is  wrong,"  will  endure  without  the  help  of  stone 
or  bronze.  It  was  what  he  did  that  will  make  our  dead 
President  immortal;  and  his  deeds  will  of  necessity  be 
recorded  upon  one  of  the  grandest  and  most  stirring 
pages  of  the  world's  history.  But  beside  the  record  of 
his  acts  he  left  behind  him  in  his  spoken  and  written 
words,  which  wrere  but  the  expression  of  the  motives  of 
his  deeds,  a  monument  more  enduring  than  any,  however 
splendid,  that  will  ever  be  erected  to  him  by  wealth  and 
taste  inspired  by  gratitude.  To  present  his  character  in 
these  fitly  and  completely  to  his  fellow  citizens,  that  they 
may  be  enabled  to  see  how  wise  and  good  he  was,  how 
entirely  he  was  devoted  to  the  cause  of  his  country  and 


2  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

to  freedom,  and  how  skillfully  he  performed  one  of  the 
most  difficult  tasks  that  ever  man  was  called  upon  to 
undertake,  how  by  forbearance  and^by  patient  waiting, 
no  less  than  by  vigorous  and  decided  action  when  the 
time  had  come  for  action,  he  led  a  great  nation  through  a 
crisis  of  unequaled  peril,  until  he  fell  a  victim  in  the 
very  hour  of  its  complete  salvation,  is  the  purpose  of  the 
following  pages. 

This  collection  presents  a  complete  view  of  Mr.  Lin 
coln's  public  life  from  the  time  when  he  was  chosen  as  a 
candidate  for  the  Presidency  by  those  who  were  deter 
mined  that  slavery  should  no  longer  be  extended  by  the 
authority  and  under  the  flag  of  this  Republic,  until  the 
very  day  when  that  flag  was  formally  raised  again  upon 
Fort  Sumter  as  a  sign  that  the  Republic  was  preserved 
in  its  integrity  and  Slavery  was  utterly  destroyed,  and 
when  he,  having  accomplished  his  great  mission,  closed  his 
labors  and  gave  up  his  spirit.  Of  all  his  speeches, 
messages,  proclamations,  public  letters,  and  orders  during 
that  eventful  period,  only  such  parts  have  been  omitted 
as  were  of  a  merely  formal  and  business  character.  All 
that  displayed  his  patriotism,  set  forth  his  principles,  or 
illustrated  his  personal  character  has  been  solicitously 
retained.  We  have  here  Abraham  Lincoln's  portrait 
painted,  and  his  monument  raised,  by  his  own  hands. 

THE    GREAT   ISSUE. 

Rarely,  if  ever,  was  the  issue  to  be  decided  by  a  great 
war  so  simple  and  so  clearly  defined  as  in  the  case  of 
that  war  of  which  Abraham  Lincoln's  election  was  the 
immediate  occasion,  and  which  his  administration  con- 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

ducted  to  so  triumphant  a  close.  That  issue  was  whether 
the  Government  of  the  Republic  known  as  the  United 
States  of  America  had  the  right,  and  the  power,  and  the 
will  to  prevent  the  extension  of  negro-slaver j  over  the 
common  territory  and  under  the  authority  of  the  Union. 
That  right  was  asserted,  and  the  intention  to  exert  it 
declared,  by  the  party  whose  votes  made  Mr.  Lincoln 
President.  It  was  denied,  and  the  purpose  based  upon 
it  was  denounced,  not  only  by  a  large  majority  of  the 
people  of  the  Slave  States  but  by  a  powerful  minority 
in  the  Free  States  ;  which  majority  and  minority,  work 
ing  together,  had  for  many  years  directed  the  councils 
and  swayed  the  power  of  the  Government.  Upon  this 
issue  Mr.  Lincoln  delivered  an  address  at  the  Cooper 
Institute  in  New  York  on  the  evening  of  February  27, 
1860,  at  a  time  when  he  had  no  notion  that  he  should 
ever  be  President.  Senator  Douglas,  then  the  leader  of 
the  Free  State  minority  above  mentioned,  had  taken  the 
position  that  the  fathers  of  the  Republic  had  denied  the 
right  of  the  Government  to  interfere  with  the  question  of 
slavery  in  the  Territories  or  common  landed  possessions 
of  the  Union,  adding,  as  a  conclusive  argument  against 
such  interference,  that  "our  fathers  when  they  framed 
the  Government  under  wThich  we  live  understood  this 
question  just  as  well  and  even  better  than  wre  do  now." 

This  doctrine  of  Mr.  Douglas  Mr.  Lincoln  took  as  the 
subject  of  his  address,  and  by  careful  historical  research 
he  brought  to  light  the  remarkable  and  pregnant  fact 
that,  with  one  or  two  exceptions,  the  fathers  of  the 
Republic,  meaning  those  who  took  part  in  framing  the 
Constitution  and  in  establishing  the  Government,  had, 
on  every  occasion  of  the  consideration  of  the  subject  of 


4  THE    MARTYR'S   MONUMENT. 

slavery  in  the  Territories,  shown  by  their  votes  that  in 
their  judgment  Congress  had  the  constitutional  right  to 
exclude  slavery  from  or  admit  it  to  the  Territories,  or  to 
modify  the  form  under  which  it  should  be  admitted,  or 
declare  the  conditions  under  which  it  should  exist.  Mr. 
Lincoln  brought  forward  contemporary  record  of  such 
action  by  the  fathers  of  the  Republic  in  1784  and  in 
1787,  before  the  formation  of  the  present  constitution; 
in  1789,  in  1798,  in  1804,  and  in  1820.  Mr.  Lincoln 
thus  summed  up  the  facts  which  he  had  brought  to  light. 

Here,  then,  we  have  twenty-three  out  of  our  thirty-nine 
fathers  "  who  framed  the  Government  under  which  we  live," 
who  have,  upon  their  official  responsil.i'it  v  ;nv,l  their  corporal 
oaths,  acted  upon  the  very  question  which  the  text  affirms  they 
"  understood  just  as  well,  and  even  better  than  we  do  now  ;  " 
and  twenty-one  of  them — a  clear  majority  of  the  whole  "  thirty- 
nine  " — so  acting  upon  it  as  to  make  them  guilty  of  gross  polit 
ical  impropriety  and  wilful  perjury,  if,  in  their  understanding, 
any  proper  division  between  local  and  federal  authority,  or 
anything  in  the  Constitution  they  had  made  themselves,  and 
sworn  to  support,  forbade  the  Federal  Government  to  control 
as  to  slavery  in  the  federal  territories.  Thus  the  twenty-one 
acted;  and,  as  actions  speak  louder  than  words,  so  actions, 
under  such  responsibility,  speak  still  louder. 

******** 

The  sum  of  the  whole  is,  that  of  our  thirty-nine  fathers  who 
framed  the  original  Constitution,  twenty-one — a  clear  majority 
of  the  whole — certainly  understood  that  no  proper  division  of 
local  from  federal  authority,  nor  any  part  of  the  Constitution, 
forbade  the  Federal  Government  to  control  slavery  in  the  federal 
territories;  while  all  the  rest  probably  had  the  same  under 
standing.  Such,  unquestionably,  was  the  understanding  of 
our  fathers  who  framed  the  original  Constitution  ;  and  the  text 
affirms  that  they  understood  the  question  "  better  than  we." 

It  is  surely  safe  to  assume  that  the  thirty-nine  framers  of  the 
original  Constitution,  and  the  seventy-six  members  of  the  Con- 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  5 

gress  which  framed  the  amendments  thereto,  taken  together,  do 
certainly  include  those  who  may  be  fairly  called  "  our  fathers 
who  framed  the  Government  under  which  we  live."  And, 
so  assuming,  I  defy  any  man  to  show  that  any  one  of  them  ever, 
in  his  whole  life,  declared  that,  in  his  understanding,  any  proper 
division  of  local  from  federal  authority,  or  any  part  of  the  Con 
stitution,  forbade  the  Federal  Government  to  control  as  to 
slavery  in  the  federal  territories.  I  go  a  step  further.  I  defy 
any  one  to  show  that  any  living  man  in  the  whole  world  ever 
did,  prior  to  the  beginning  of  the  present  century,  (and  I  might 
almost  say  prior  to  the  beginning  of  the  last  half  of  the  present 
century,)  declare  that,  in  his  understanding,  any  proper  division 
of  local  from  federal  authority,  or  any  part  of  the  Constitution, 
forbade  the  Federal  Government  to  control  as  to  slavery  in  the 
federal  territories.  To  those  wrho  now  so  declare,  I  give,  not 
only  "  our  fathers  who  framed  the  Government  under  which  we 
live,"  but  with  them  all  other  living  men  within  the  century  in 
which  it  was  framed,  among  whom  to  search,  and  they  shall  not 
be  able  to  find  the  evidence  of  a  single  man  agreeing  with  them. 

In  this  speech  Mr.  Lincoln  set  forth,  in  a  very  note 
worthy  manner,  his  appreciation  of  the  relative  positions 
of  the  Free  and  the  Slave  States  upon  the  great  question 
then  agitating  the  country.  After  saying  that  the  Re 
publican  party  only  asked  that  slavery  should  be  marked 
as  "  the  fathers"  marked  it,  "as  an  evil  not  to  be  extended, 
but  to  be  tolerated  and  protected  only  because  of,  and  so 
fur  as,  its  actual  presence  among  us  makes  that  toleration 
and  protection  a  necessity: — let,"  he  continued,  "all 
the  guaranties  those  fathers  gave  it,  be,  not  grudgingly, 
but  fully  and  fairly  maintained."  Then,  addressing  him 
self  to  the  propagandists  of  slavery,  he  said  as  follows  : 

And  now,  if  they  would  listen — as  I  suppose  they  will  not — 
I  would  address  a  few  words  to  the  Southern  people. 

I  would  say  to  them  : — You  consider  yourselves  a  reasonable 
and  a  just  people  ;  and  I  consider  that  in  the  general  qualities 


6  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

of  reason  and  justice  you  are  not  inferior  to  any  other  people. 
Still,  when  you  speak  of  us  Republicans,  you  do  so  only  to  de 
nounce  us  as  reptiles,  or,  at  the  best,  as  no  better  than  outlaws. 
You  will  grant  a  healing  to  pirates  or  murderers,  but  nothing 
like  it  to  "  Black  Republicans."  In  all  your  contentions  with 
one  another,  each  of  you  deems  an  unconditional  condemnation 
of  "  Black  Republicanism"  as  the  first  thing  to  be  attended  to. 
Indeed,  such  condemnation  of  us  seems  to  be  an  indispensable 
prerequisite — license,  so  to  speak — among  you  to  be  admitted 
or  permitted  to  speak  at  all.  Now,  can  you,  or  not,  be  prevailed 
upon  to  pause  and  to  consider  whether  this  is  quite  just  to  us,  or 
even  to  yourselves  ?  Bring  forward  your  charges  and  specifica 
tions,  and  then  be  patient  long  enough  to  hear  us  deny  or  justify. 
You  say  we  are  sectional.  We  deny  it.  That  makes  an  issue; 
and  the  burden  of  proof  is  upon  you.  You  produce  your  proof; 
and  what  is  it  ?  Why,  that  our  party  has  no  existence  in  your 
section — gets  no  votes  in  your  section.  The  fact  is  substantially 
true ;  but  does  it  prove  the  issue  ?  If  it  does,  then  in  case  we 
should,  without  change  of  principle,  begin  to  get  votes  in  your 
section,  we  should  thereby  cease  to  be  sectional.  You  cannot 
escape  this  conclusion  ;  and  yet,  are  you  willing  to  abide  by  it? 
If  you  are,  you  will  probably  soon  find  that  we  have  ceased  to 
be  sectional,  for  we  shall  get  votes  in  your  section  this  very 
year.  You  will  then  begin  to  discover,  as  the  truth  plainly  is, 
that  your  proof  does  not  touch  the  issue.  The  fact  that  we  get 
no  votes  in  your  section,  is  a  fact  of  your  making,  and  not  of 
purs.  And  if  there  be  fault  in  that  fact,  that  fault  is  primarily 
yours,  and  remains  so  until  you  show  that  we  repel  you  by  some 
wrong  principle  or  practice.  If  we  do  repel  you  by  any  wrong 
principle  or  practice,  the  fault  is  ours ;  but  this  brings  you  to 
where  you  ought  to  have  started — to  a  discussion  of  the  right 
or  wrong  of  our  principle.  If  our  principle,  put  in  practice, 
would  wrong  your  section  for  the  benefit  of  ours,  or  for  any 
other  object,  then  our  principle,  and  we  with  it,  are  sectional, 
and  are  justly  opposed  and  denounced  as  such.  Meet  us,  then, 
on  the  question  of  whether  our  principle,  put  in  practice,  would 
wrong  your  section ;  and  so  meet  us  as  if  it  were  possible  that 
something  may  be  said  on  our  side.  Do  you  accept  the  chal- 


THE 


lenge  ?  No  !  Then  you  really  believe  that  the  principle  which 
"  our  fathers  who  framed  the  Government  under  which  we  live" 
thought  so  clearly  right  as  to  adopt  it,  and  indorse  it  again  and 
again,  upon  their  official  oaths,  is  in  fact  so  clearly  wrong  as  to 
demand  your  condemnation  without  a  moment's  consideration. 

Some  of  you  d  .light  to  flaunt  in  our  faces  the  warning  against 
sectional  parties  given  by  Washington  in  his  Farewell  Address. 
Less  than  eight  years  before  Washington  gave  that  warning,  he 
had,  as  President  of  the  United  States,  approved  and  signed  an 
act  of  Congress,  enforcing  the  prohibition  of  slavery  in  the 
Northwestern  Territory,  which  act  embodied  the  policy  of  the 
Government  upon  that  subject  up  to  and  at  the  very  moment 
he  penned  that  warning  ;  and  about  one  year  after  he  penned 
it,  he  wrote  La  Fayette  that  he  considered  that  prohibition  a 
wise  measure,  expressing  in  the  same  connection  his  hope  that 
we  should  at  some  time  have  a  confederacy  of  free  States. 

Bearing  this  in  mind,  and  seeing  that  sectionalism  has  since 
arisen  upon  this  same  subject,  is  that  warning  a  weapon  in  your 
hands  against  us,  or  in  our  hands  against  you?  Could  Wash 
ington  himself  speak,  would  he  cast  the  blame  of  that  section 
alism  upon  us,  who  sustain  his  policy,  or  upon  you  who  repu 
diate  it?  We  respect  that  warning  of  Washington,  and  we 
commend  it  to  you,  together  with  his  example  pointing  to  the 
right  application  of  it. 

Of  emancipation  and  of  such  efforts  as  that  of  John 
Brown,  Mr.  Lincoln  expressed  these  views  : 

In  the  language  of  Mr.  Jefferson,  uttered  many  years  ago,  "  It 
is  still  in  our  power  to  direct  the  process  of  emancipation,  and 
deportation,  peaceably,  and  in  such  slow  degrees,  as  that  the 
evil  will  wear  off  insensibly ;  and  their  [the  negroes']  places  be, 
pari  passu,  filled  up  by  free  white  laborers.  If,  on  the  contrary, 
it  is  left  to  force  itself  on,  human  nature  must  shudder  at  the 
prospect  held  up." 

Mr.  Jefferson  did  not  mean  to  say,  nor  do  I,  that  the  power 
of  emancipation  is  in  the  Federal  Government.  He  spoke  of 
Virginia ;  and,  as  to  the  power  of  emancipation,  I  speak  of  the 
slave-holding  States  only.  The  Federal  Government,  however, 


8  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

as  we  insist,  has  the  power  of  restraining  the  extension  of  the 
institution — the  power  to  insure  that  a  slave  insurrection  shall 
never  occur  on  any  American  soil  which  is  now  free  from  slavery. 
John  Brown's  effort  was  peculiar.  It  was  not  a  slave  insur 
rection.  It  was  an  attempt  by  white  men  to  get  up  a  revolt 
among  slaves,  in  which  the  slaves  refused  to  participate.  In 
fact,  it  was  so  absurd,  that  the  slaves,  with  all  their  ignorance, 
saw  plainly  enough  it  could  not  succeed.  That  affair,  in  its 
philosophy,  corresponds  with  the  many  attempts,  related  in 
history,  at  the  assassination  of  kings  and  emperors.  An  enthu 
siast  broods  over  the  oppression  of  a  people  till  he  fancies  him 
self  commissioned  by  Heaven  to  liberate  them.  He  ventures 
the  attempt,  which  ends  in  little  else  than  his  own  execution. 
Orsini's  attempt  on  Louis  Napoleon,  and  John  Brown's  attempt 
at  Harper's  Ferry  were,  in  their  philosophy,  precisely  the  same. 
The  eagerness  to  cast  blame  on  old  England  in  the  one  case,  and 
on  New  England  in  the  other,  does  not  disprove  the  sameness 
of  the  two  things. 

Mr.  Lincoln  closed  his  discourse  by  the  following  pas 
sage  which  he  addressed  specially  to  the  opponents  of  the 
extension  of  slavery,  L  e.,  in  his  words,  the  Republicans, 
although  there  were  many  who  united  with  him  in  that  op 
position  and  in  these  views  as  to  its  nature,  its  right,  and 
its  necessity,  who  had  not  acted  with  the  Republican  party. 

A  few  words  now  to  Republicans.  It  is  exceedingly  desirable 
that  all  parts  of  this  great  Confederacy  shall  be  at  peace,  and 
in  harmony,  one  with  another.  Let  us  Republicans  do  our 
part  to  have  it  so.  Even  though  much  provoked,  let  us  do 
nothing  through  passion  and  ill-temper.  Even  though  the 
Southern  people  will  not  so  much  as  listen  to  us,  let  us  calmly 
consider  their  demands,  and  yield  to  them  if,  in  our  deliberate 
view  of  our  duty,  we  possibly  can.  Judging  by  all  they  say 
and  do,  and  by  the  subject  and  nature  of  their  controversy  with 
us,  let  us  determine,  if  we  can,  what  will  satisfy  them. 

Will  they  be  satisfied  if  the  Territories  be  unconditionally 
surrendered  to  them  ?  We  know  they  will  not.  In  all  their 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  9 

present  complaints  against  us,  the  Territories  are  scarcely  men 
tioned.  Invasions  and  insurrections  are  the  rage  now.  Will  it 
satisfy  them,  if,  in  the  future,  we  have  nothing  to  do  with  in 
vasions  and  insurrections  ?  We  know  it  will  not.  We  so  know, 
because  we  know  we  never  had  anything  to  do  with  invasions 
and  insurrections ;  and  yet  this  total  abstaining  does  not  exempt 
us  from  the  charge  and  the  denunciation.  *  *  *  * 

In  all  our  platforms  and  speeches  we  have  constantly  pro 
tested  our  purpose  to  let  them  alone ;  but  this  has  had  no 
tendency  to  convince  them.  Alike  unavailing  to  convince  them, 
is  the  fact  that  they  have  never  detected  a  man  of  us  in  any 
attempt  to  disturb  them. 

These  natural,  and  apparently  adequate  means  all  failing, 
what  will  convince  them  ?  This,  and  this  only ,  cease  to  call 
slavery  wrong,  and  join  them  in  calling  it  right.  And  this  must 
be  done  thoroughly — done  in  acts  as  well  as  in  words.  Silence 
will  not  be  tolerated — we  must  place  ourselves  avowedly  with 
them.  Senator  Douglas's  new  sedition  law  must  be  enacted 
and  enforced,  suppressing  all  declarations  that  slavery  is  wrong, 
whether  made  in  politics,  in  presses,  in  pulpits,  or  in  private. 
We  must  arrest  and  return  their  fugitive  slaves  with  greedy 
pleasure.  We  must  pull  down  our  Free  State  constitutions. 
The  whole  atmosphere  must  be  disinfected  from  all  taint  of 
opposition  to  slavery,  before  they  will  cease  to  believe  that  all 
their  troubles  proceed  from  us.  ****** 

Nor  can  we  justifiably  withhold  this,  on  any  ground  save  our 
conviction  that  slavery  is  wrong.  If  slavery  is  right,  all  words, 
acts,  laws,  and  constitutions  against  it,  are  themselves  wrong, 
and  should  be  silenced,  and  swept  away.  If  it  is  right,  we 
cannot  justly  object  to  its  nationality — its  universality;  if  it  is 
wrong,  they  cannot  justly  insist  upon  its  extension — its  enlarge 
ment.  All  they  ask,  we  could  readily  grant,  if  we  thought 
slavery  right ;  all  we  ask,  they  could  as  readily  grant,  if  they 
thought  it  wrong.  Their  thinking  it  right,  and  our  thinking  it 
wrong,  is  the  precise  fact  upon  which  depends  the  whole  con 
troversy.  Thinking  it  right,  as  they  do,  they  are  not  to  blame 
1'or  desiring  its  full  recognition,  as  being  right ;  but,  thinking  it 
wrong,  as  we  do,  can  we  yield  to  them  ?  Can  we  cast  our  vote« 


10  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

with  their  view,  and  against  our  own  ?  In  view  of  our  moral, 
social,  and  political  responsibilities,  can  wre  do  this  ?  , 

Wrong  as  we  think  slavery  is,  wre  can  yet  afford  to  let  it  alone 
where  it  is,  because  that  much  is  due  to  the  necessity  arising 
from  its  actual  presence  in  the  nation ;  but  can  we,while  our  votes 
will  prevent  it,  allow  it  to  spread  into  the  National  Territories, 
and  to  overrun  us  here  in  these  Free  States  ?  If  our  sense  of 
duty  forbids  this,  then  let  us  stand  by  our  duty,  fearlessly 
and  effectively.  Let  us  be  diverted  by  none  of  those  sophisti 
cal  contrivances  wherewith  we  are  so  industriously  plied  and 
belabored — contrivances  such  as  groping  for  some  middle  ground 
between  the  right  and  the  wrong,  vain  as  the  search  for  a  man  who 
should  be  neither  a  living  man  nor  a  dead  man — such  as  a 
policy  of  "  don't  care  "  on  a  question  about  which  all  true  men 
do  care — such  as  Union  appeals  beseeching  true  Union  men  to 
yield  to  Disunionists,  reversing  the  divine  rule,  and  calling,  not 
the  sinners,  but  the  righteous  to  repentance — such  as  invoca 
tions  to  Washington,  imploring  men  to  unsay  what  Washington 
said,  and  undo  what  Washington  did. 

Neither  let  us  be  slandered  from  our  duty  by  false  accusa 
tions  against  us,  nor  frightened  from  it  by  menaces  of  destruc 
tion  to  the  Government  nor  of  dungeons  to  ourselves.  Let  us 
have  faith  that  right  makes  might,  and  in  that  faith,  let  us,  to 
the  end,  dare  to  do  our  duty  as  we  understand  it. 

Thus  clearly,  fairly  and  with  eminent  kindness  and 
consideration  towards  the  slave-holders  did  Mr.  Lincoln 
set  forth  the  Great  Issue  which  he  was  afterwards  called 
upon  to  try  before  the  world.  But  previously  he  had  ex 
pressed  more  tersely  and  almost  epigramatically  his  judg 
ment  as  to  the  future  of  this  country  in  regard  to  this  sub 
ject.  When  Mr.  Lincoln  was  nominated  to  the  Senate 
of  the  United  States,  in  1858,  he  made  a  speech,  in  the 
opening  passage  of  which  were  these  memorable  words : 

"  A  house  divided  against  itself  cannot  stand.  I  believe  this 
Government  cannot  endure  permanently  half  slave  and  half 
free.  I  do  not  expect  the  union  to  be  dissolved — I  do  not 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.       11 

expect  the  house  to  fall,  but  I  do  expect  it  will  cease  to  be 
divided.     It  will  become  all  one  thing  or  all  the  other." 

Surely  political  sagacity  and  foresight  were  never  more 
manifest  than  in  this  prediction.  It  has  been  verified  by 
subsequent  events  to  the  letter.  The  slaveholders  were 
determined  that  the  Government  should  be  all  "slave." 
During  the  years  which  immediately  preceded  the 
attempted  secession,  they  thought  that  they  were  rapidly 
bringing  about  the  end  which  they  so  much  desired ;  and 
there  is  no  reasonable  doubt  that  at  first  secession  itself 
was  but  a  new  and  rough  method  adopted  by  them  to  accom 
plish  this  same  purpose ; — that  they  believed  that  after 
they  had  shown  their  ability  to  defy  and  resist  the  Gov 
ernment  and  establish  the  principle  of  State  Sovereignty, 
they  could  reconstruct  the  Union  on  a  basis  which  would 
enable  them  to  carry  slavery  into  the  Territories,  and 
their  slaves  into  any  State  of  their  reconstructed  Union. 
They  were  rudely  undeceived,  and  the  man  who,  next  to 
themselves,  was  the  chief  instrument  of  their  destruction, 
was  he  who  only  six  years  before  had  told  them  that  they 
must  succeed  entirely  or  fail  utterly,  that  the  Government 
could  not  endure  half  slave  and  half  free,  and  that  the 
Union  would  not  be  dissolved. 

NOMINATION   TO    THE    PRESIDENCY. 

Mr.  Lincoln,  unexpectedly  to  himself  and  to  the 
country,  was  nominated  to  the  Presidency  by  the  conven 
tion  of  1860,  at  Chicago.  To  the  announcement  of  this 
fact  made  by  a  committee,  he  made  the  following  reply : 

"  Mr.  Chairman  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Committee — I  tender  to 
you,  and  through  you  to  the  Republican  National  Convention, 


12        THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

and  all  the  people  represented  in  it,  my  profoundest  thanks  for 
the  high  honor  done  me,  which  you  now  formally  announce. 
Deeply,  and  even  painfully  sensible  of  the  great  responsibility 
which  is  inseparable  from  this  high  honor — a  responsibility 
which  I  could  almost  wish  had  fallen  upon  some  one  of  the  far 
more  eminent  men  and  experienced  statesmen  whose  distin 
guished  names  were  before  the  Convention,  I  shall,  by  your 
leave,  consider  more  fully  the  resolutions  of  the  Convention, 
denominated  the  platform,  and  without  any  unnecessary  or 
unreasonable  delay,  respond  to  you,  Mr.  Chairman,  in  writing, 
not  doubting  that  the  platform  will  be  found  satisfactory,  and 
the  nomination  gratefully  accepted. 

"  And  now  I  will  not  longer  defer  the  pleasure  of  taking 
you,  and  each  of  you,  by  the  hand." 

The  response  in  writing  to  which  he  referred,  was  soon 
after  received  in  the  following  words  : 

SPRINGFIELD,  ILLINOIS,  May,  1860. 

Sir — I  accept  the  nomination  tendered  to  me  by  the  Conven 
tion  over  which  you  presided,  of  which  I  am  formally  apprized 
in  a  letter  of  yourself  and  others  acting  as  a  Committee  of  the 
Convention  for  that  purpose.  The  declaration  of  principles 
and  sentiments  which  accompanies  your  letter  meets  my  ap 
proval,  and  it  shall  be  my  care  not  to  violate  it,  or  disregard  it 
in  any  part.  Imploring  the  assistance  of  Divine  Providence, 
and  with  due  regard  to  the  views  and  feelings  of  all  who  were 
represented  in  the  Convention,  to  the  rights  of  all  the  States 
and  Territories  and  people  of  the  nation,  to  the  inviolability  of 
the  Constitution,  and  the  perpetual  union,  harmony,  and  pros 
perity  of  all,  I  am  most  happy  to  co-operate  for  the  practical 
success  of  the  principles  declared  by  the  Convention. 

Your  obliging  friend  and  fellow-citizen, 
ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

HON.  GEOBGR  ASIIMUN, 

President  of  the  Republican  Convention. 

These  were  almost  mere  formalities.  Yet  their  tone 
indicated  the  character  of  the  man.  The  short  speech 
was  uttered  in  a  tone  and  with  a  manner  full  of  dignity, 


13 


and  with  an  expression  of  a  sense  of  responsibility  which 
almost  amounted  to  sadness.  And  in  both  speech  and 
letter  there  appears  that  mingling  of  firmness  and  self- 
distrust,  that  determination  and  that  reliance  upon  a 
higher  power  which  marked  Mr.  Lincoln's  words  and 
conduct  throughout  his  public  life.  When,  after  his 
election,  the  time  had  arrived  for  him  to  leave  his  quiet 
home  for  the  capital  of  his  distracted  country,  he  ad 
dressed  his  friends  and  neighbors  in  the  following  few 
brief  sentences.  But  few  and  brief  although  they  are, 
how  fully  they  express  a  just  and  large  appreciation  of 
the  crisis  in  which  he  was  called  to  power,  how  imbued 
they  are  with  the  man's  tenderness,  and  the  statesman's 
trust  in  God! 

PARTING    SPEECH    AT   ILLINOIS,    FEB.    UTII,    1860. 

My  Friends — No  one,  not  in  iny  position,  can  appreciate  the 
sadness  I  feel  at  this  parting.  To  this  people  I  owe  all  that  I 
am.  Here  I  have  lived  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  ;  here 
my  children  were  born,  and  here  one  of  them  lies  buried.  I 
know  not  how  soon  I  shall  see  you  again.  A  duty  devolves 
upon  me,  which  is,  perhaps,  greater  than  that  which  has 
devolved  upon  any  other  man  since  the  days  of  WASHINGTON. 
He  never  would  have  succeeded  except  for  the  aid  of  Divine 
Proyidence,  upon  which  he  at  all  times  relied.  I  feel  that  I 
cannot  succeed  without  the  same  Divine  aid  which  sustained 
him,  and  on  the  same  Almighty  Being  I  place  my  reliance  for 
support,  and  I  hope  you,  my  friends,  will  all  pray  that  I  may 
receive  that  Divine  assistance,  without  which  I  cannot  succeed, 
but  with  which,  success  is  certain.  Again  I  bid  you  all  an 
affectionate  farewell. 

His  journey  to  Washington  was  a  progress  like  that 
of  a  monarch  in  olden  time — he,  that  simple,  unassuming, 
almost  rude  frontiersman  and  village  lawyer.  He  was 


14        THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

met  at  every  station  by  throngs  of  people  eager  to  cheer 
and  encourage  him,  and  to  hear  a  word  of  cheer  and 
encouragement  in  return.  In  what  he  said  he  of  course 
repeate  d  himself  often,  and  on  some  occasions  he  merely 
uttered  a  kindly  sentence  or  two,  which  was  cut  short 
by  the  impatient  shriek  of  the  railway  engine.  The 
following  are  all  the  speeches  made  by  him  upon  his 
journey,  to  which  the  above  remarks  do  not  apply  : 

SPEECHES   AT   INDIANAPOLIS. 

Gov.  Morton  and  Fellow- Citizens  of  the  State  of  Indiana — Most 
heartily  do  I  thank  you  for  this  magnificent  reception,  and  while 
I  cannot  take  to  myself  any  share  of  the  compliment  thus  paid, 
more  than  that  which  pertains  to  a  mere  instrument,  an  acciden 
tal  instrument,  perhaps  I  should  say,  of  a  great  cause,  I  yet 
must  look  upon  it  as  a  most  magnificent  reception,  and  as  such, 
most  heartily  do  thank  you  for  it.  You  have  been  pleased  to 
address  yourself  to  me  chiefly  in  behalf  of  this  glorious  Union 
in  which  we  live,  in  all  of  which  you  have  my  hearty  sympathy, 
and,  as  far  as  may  be  within  my  power,  will  have,  one  and 
inseparably,  my  hearty  consideration ;  while  I  do  not  expect 
upon  this  occasion,  or  until  I  get  to  Washington,  to  attempt 
any  lengthy  speech,  I  will  only  say,  To  the  salvation  of  the 
Union  there  needs  but  one  single  thing,  the  hearts  of  a  people 
like  yours.  [Applause.] 

The  people,  when  they  rise  in  mass  in  behalf  of  the  Union 
and  the  liberties  of  their  country,  truly  may  it  be  said,  "  The 
gates  of  hell  cannot  prevail  against  them."  [Renewed  ap 
plause.]  In  all  trying  positions  in  which  Irsliall  be  placed,  and, 
doubtless  I  shall  be  placed  in  many  such,  my  reliance  will  be 
placed  upon  you  and  the  people  of  the  United  States ;  and  I 
wish  you  to  remember,  now  and  forever,  that  it  is  your  business, 
and  not  mine ;  that  if  the  union  of  these  States,  and  the  liber 
ties  of  this  people  shall  be  lost,  it  is  but  little  to  any  one  man 
of  fifty-two  years  of  age,  but  a  great  deal  to  the  thirty  millions 
of  people  who  inhabit  these  United  States,  and  to  their  poster- 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  15 

ity  in  all  coming  time.     It  is  your  business  to  rise  up  and  pre 
serve  the  Union  and  liberty  for  yourselves,  and  not  for  me. 

I  desire  they  should  be  constitutionally  performed.  I,  as 
already  intimated,  am  but  an  accidental  instrument,  temporary, 
and  to  serve  but  for  a  limited  time,  and  I  appeal  to  you  again 
to  constantly  bear  in  mind  that  with  you,  and  not  with  politi 
cians,  not  with  Presidents,  not  with  office-seekers,  but  with  you, 
is  the  question,  Shall  the  Union  and  shall  the  liberties  of  this 
country  be  preserved  to  the  latest  generations  ?  [Cheers.] 

The  above  speech  was  delivered  in  front  of  the  Bates 
House,  at  Indianapolis,  to  a  promiscuous  assemblage, 
among  which  appeared  the  governor  and  members  of  both 
houses  of  the  State  Legislature.  •  That  which  follows  was 
made  at  the  same  hotel  in  the  evening,  in  response  to  a 
formal  welcome  from  the  Legislature. 

Fdloic- Citizens  of  the  State  of  Indiana — I  am  here  to  thank 
you  much  for  this  magnificent  welcome,  and  still  more  for  the  gen 
erous  support  given  by  your  State  to  that  political  cause  which  I 
think  is  the  true  and  just  cause  of  the  whole  country  and  the 
whole  world. 

Solomon  says,  there  is  "  a  time  to  keep  silence,"  and  when  men 
wrangle  by  the  mouth  with  no  certainty  that  they  mean  the 
same  thing,  while  using  the  same  icord,  it  perhaps  were  as  well 
if  they  would  keep  silence. 

The  words  "  coercion"  and  "  invasion"  are  much  used  in  these 
days,  and  often  with  some  temper  and  hot  blood.  Let  us  make 
sure,  if  we  can,  that  we  do  not  misunderstand"  the  meaning  of 
those  who  use  them.  Let  us  get  exact  definitions  of  these 
words,  not  from  dictionaries,  but  from  the  men  themselves,  who 
certainly  depreciate  the  things  they  would  represent  by  the  use 
of  words.  What,  then,  is  "  Coercion  ?"  What  is  "  Invasion  ?" 
Would  the  marching  of  an  army  into  South  Carolina  without 
the  consent  of  her  people,  and  with  hostile  intent  towards 
them,  be  "  invasion  ?"  I  certainly  think  it  would ;  and  it  would 
be  "  coercion"  also  if  the  South  Carolinians  were  forced  to 
submit.  But  if  the  United  States  should  merely  hold  and 


16  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

retake  its  own  forts  and  other  property,  and  collect  the  duties 
on  foreign  importations,  or  even  withhold  the  mails  from  places 
where  they  were  habitually  violated,  would  any  or  all  these 
things  be  "invasion"  or  "coercion?"  Do  our  professed  lovers 
of  the  Union,  but  who  spitefully  resolve  that  they  will  resist 
coercion  and  invasion,  understand  that  such  things  as  these,  on 
the  part  of  the  United  States,  would  be  coercion  or  invasion  of 
a  State  ?  If  so,  their  ideas  of  means  to  preserve  the  object  of 
their  affection,  would  seem  exceedingly  thin  and  airy.  If  sick, 
the  little  pills  of  the  homo3Opathists  would  be  too  large  for  it  to 
swallow.  In  their  view,  the  Union,  as  a  family  relation,  would 
seem  to  be  no  regular  marriage,  but  a  sort  of  "  free  love" 
arrangement,  to  be  maintained  only  on  "  passional  attraction." 

By  the  way,  in  what  consists  the  special  sacrednessof  a  State? 
I  speak  not  of  the  position  assigned  to  a  State  in  the  Union,  by 
the  Constitution ;  for  that,  by  the  bond,  we  all  recognize.  That 
position,  however,  a  State  cannot  carry  out  of  the  Union  with 
it.  I  speak  of  that  assumed  primary  right  of  a  State  to  rule  all 
which  is  less  than  itself  and  ruin  all  which  is  larger  than  itself. 
If  a  State  and  a  county  in  a  given  case,  should  b^  equal  in 
extent  of  territory,  and  equal  in  number  of  inhabitants,  in  what, 
as  a  matter  of  principle,  is  the  State  better  than  th«  county  ? 
Would  an  exchange  of  names  be  an  exchange  of  rights  upon 
principle  ?  On  what  rightful  principle  may  a  State,  being  not 
more  than  one-fiftieth  part  of  the  nation,  in  soil  and  popula 
tion,  break  up  the  nation,  and  then  coerce  a  proportionally 
larger  subdivision  of  itself,  in  the  most  arbitrary  way  ?  What 
mysterious  right  to  play  tyrant  is  conferred  on  a  district  of 
country,  with  its  people,  by  merely  calling  it  a  State  ?  . 

Fellow-citizens,  I  am  not  asserting  anything ;  I  am  merely 
asking  questions  for  you  to  consider.  And  now  allow  me  to 
bid  you  farewell. 

6PEECH   AT   CINCINNATI. 

Mr.  Mayor  and  Felloio- Citizens — I  have  spoken  but  once  be 
fore  this  in  Cincinnati.  That  was  a  year  previous  to  the  late 
Presidential  election.  On  that  occasion,  in  a  playful  manner,  but 
with  sincere  words,  I  addressed  much  of  what  I  said'  to  the  Ken- 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  17 

tuckians.  I  gave  my  opinion  that  we,  as  Republicans,  would 
ultimately  beat  them,  as  Democrats,  but  that  they  could  postpone 
that  result  longer  by  nominating  Senator  Douglas  for  the  Presi 
dency  than  they  could  in  any  other  way.  They  did  not,  in  any  true 
sense  of  the  word,  nominate  Mr.  Douglas,  and  the  result  has  come 
certainly  as  soon  as  ever  I  expected.  I  also  told  them  how  I 
expected  they  would  be  treated  after  they  should  have  been 
beaten ;  and  I  now  wish  to  call  their  attention  to  what  I  then 
eaid  upon  that  subject.  I  then  said,  "  When  we  do  as  we  say, 
beat  you,  you  perhaps  want  to  know  what  we  will  do  with  you. 
I  will  tell  you,  as  far  as  I  am  authorized  to  speak  for  the  oppo 
sition,  what  wre  mean  to  do  with  you.  We  mean  to  treat  you 
as  near  as  we  possibly  can,  as  Washington,  Jefferson,  and  Mad 
ison  treated  you.  We  mean  to  leave  you  alone,  tnd  in  no  way 
to  interfere  with  your  institutions ;  to  abide  by  all  and  every 
compromise  of  the  Constitution ;  and,  in  a  word,  coming  back 
to  the  original  proposition,  -to  treat  you,  so  far  as  degenerate 
men,  if  we  have  degenerated,  may,  according  to  the  example  of 
those  noble  fathers,  WASHINGTON,  JEFFERSON  and  MADISON. 
We  mean  to  remember  that  you  are  as  good  as  we ;  that  there 
is  no  difference  between  us,  other  than  the  difference  of  circum 
stances.  We  mean  to  recognize  and  bear  in  mind  always  that 
you  have  as  good  hearts  in  your  bosoms  as  any  people,  or  as 
we  claim  to  have,  and  treat  you  accordingly. 

Fellow-citizens  of  Kentucky !  friends !  brethren,  may  I  call 
you  in  my  new  position  ?  I  see  no  occasion,  and  feel  no  incli 
nation  to  retract  a  word  of  this.  If  it  shall  not  be  made  good, 
l)e  assured  the  fault  shall  not  be  mine. 

SPEECH    AT    COLUMBUS. 

Jtfr.  President  and  Mr,  Speaker,  and  Gentlemen  of  the  General 
Assembly — It  is  true,  as  has  been  said  by  the  President  of  the 
Senate,  that  very  great  responsibility  rests  upon  me  in  the  po 
sition  to  which  the  votes  of  the  American  people  have  called 
me.  I  am  deeply  sensible  of  that  weighty  responsibility.  I 
cannot  but  know  what  you  all  know,  that  without  a  name,  per 
haps  without  a  reason  why  I  should  have  a  name,  there  has 
faflen  upon  me  a  task  such  as  did  not  rest  even  upon  the  Father 


18 


of  liis  country,  and  so  feeling  I  cannot  but  turn  and  look  for 
the  support  without  which  it  will  be  impossible  for  me  to  per 
form  that  great  task.  I  turn,  then,  and  look  to  the  great  Amer 
ican  people,  and  to  that  Gocfwho  has  never  forsaken  them. 

Allusion  has  been  made  to  the  interest  felt  in  relation  to  the 
policy  of  the  new  administration.  In  this  I  have  received  from 
some  a  degree  of  credit  for  having  kept  silence,  and  from  oth 
ers  some  depreciation.  I  still  think  I  was  right.  In  the  varying 
and  repeatedly  shifting  scenes  of  the  present,  and  without  a 
precedent  which  could  enable  me  to  judge  by  the  past,  it  has 
seemed  fitting  that  before  speaking  upon  the  difficulties  of  the 
country,  I  should  have  gained  a  view  of  the  whole  field  so  as 
to  be  sure  after  all — at  liberty  to  modify  and  change  the  course 
of  policy  as  future  events  may  make  a  change  necessary.  I 
have  not  maintained  silence  from  any  want  of  real  anxiety.  It 
is  a  good  thing  that  there  is  no  more  than  anxiety,  for  there  is 
nothing  going  wrong.  It  is  a  consoling  circumstance  that  when 
we  look  out,  there  is  nothing  that  really  hurts  anybody.  We 
entertain  different  views  upon  political  questions,  but  nobody 
is  suffering  anything.  This  is  a  most  consoling  circumstance, 
and  from  it  we  may  conclude  that  all  we  want  is  time,  patience, 
and  a  reliance  on  that  God  who  has  never  forsaken  this  people. 
Fellow-citizens,  what  I  have  said  I  have  said  altogether  extem 
poraneously,  and  will  now  come  to  a  close. 

This  speech  is  strongly  marked  by  that  peculiar  and, 
as  it  proved,  very  wise  trait  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  policy  in 
the  early  part  of  his  administration,  although  it  subjected 
him  at  first  to  reproach,  and  to  charges  on  the  one  side 
of  lukewarmness,  and  on  the  other  of  levity — a  watchful 
consideration  of  the  course  of  events,  and  the  tone  of  the 
public  mind ;  a  determination  not  to  attempt  the  imprac 
ticable,  and  not  to  be  too  far  in  advance  of  the  general 
public  sentiment. 

SPEECH   AT   STEUBENVILLE. 

I  fear  that  the  great  confidence  placed  in  my  ability  is  un 
founded.  Indeed,  I  am  sure  it  is.  Encompassed  by  vast  diffi- 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  19 

culties  as  I  am,  nothing  shall  be  wanting  on  my  part,  if 
sustained  by  the  American  people  and  God.  I  believe  the 
devotion  to  the  Constitution  is  equally  great  on  both  sides  of 
the  river.  It  is  only  the  different  understanding  of  that  instru 
ment  that  causes  difficulty.  The  only  dispute  on  both  sides  is 
"  What  are  their  rights  ?"  If  the  majority  should  not  rule,  who 
should  be  the  judge  ?  Where  is  such  a  judge  to  be  found  ? 
We  should  all  be  bound  by  the  majority  of  the  American  peo 
ple — if  not,  then  the  minority  must  control.  Would  that  be 
right  ?  Would  it  be  just  or  generous  ?  Assuredly  not.  I  reit 
erate  that  the  majority  should  rule.  If  I  adopt  a  wrong  policy, 
the  opportunity  for  condemnation  will  occur  in  four  years' 
time.  Then  I  can  be  turned  out,  and  a  better  man  with  better 
views  put  in  my  place. 

But  he  was  not  turned  out.  The  heathen  raged,  and 
some  of  the  people  imagined  a  vain  thing,  yet  in  the 
midst  of  this  fearful  conflict,  with  such  an  approach  to 
unanimity  as  has  not  been  seen  since  the  days  of  Wash 
ington  or  Jackson,  his  fellow-citizens  declared  that  a  bet 
ter  man  with  better  views  could  not  be  found  for  the 
emergency. 

EXTRACT    FROM    MR.    LINCOLN'S   SPEECH   AT    PITTSBURG. 

It  is  often  said  that  the  tariff  is  the  specialty  of  Pennsylvania. 
Assuming  that  direct  taxation  is  not  to  be  adopted,  the  Tariff 
question  must  be  as  durable  as  the  Government  itself.  It  is  a 
question  of  national  housekeeping.  It  is  to  the  Government 
what  replenishing  the  meal-tub  is  to  the  family.  Every  varying 
circumstance  will  require  frequent  modifications  as  to  the 
amount  needed,  and  the  sources  of  supply.  So  far  there  is 
little  difference  of  opinion  among  the  people.  It  is  only  wheth 
er,  and  how  fur,  the  duties  on  imports  shall  be  adjusted  to  favor 
home  productions.  In  the  home  market  that  controversy 
begins.  One  party  insists  that  too  much  protection  oppresses 
one  class  for  the  advantage  of  another,  while  the  other  party 


20        THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

argues  that,  with  all  its  incidents,  in  the  long  run,  all  classes  are 
benefited.  In  the  Chicago  Platform  there  is  a  plank  upon  this 
subject,  which  should  be  a  general  law  to  the  incoming  Admin 
istration.  We  should  do  neither  more  nor  less  than  we  gave  the 
people  reason  to  believe  we  would  when  they  gave  us  their  votes. 
That  plank  is  as  I  now  read : 

Mr.  Lincoln's  private  secretary  then  read  section  twelfth  of 
the  Chicago  Platform,  as  follows : 

"  That  while  providing  revenue  for  the  support  of  the  Gen 
eral  Government,  by  duties  upon  imports,  sound  policy  requires 
such  an  adjustment  of  these  duties  upon  imports  as  will  en 
courage  the  development  of  the  industrial  interest  of  the  whole 
country ;  and  we  commend  that  policy  of  national  exchanges 
which  secures  to  working-men  liberal  wages — to  agriculture 
remunerating  prices — to  mechanics  and  manufacturers  adequate 
reward  for  their  skill,  labor,  and  enterprise  ;  and  to  the  nation 
commercial  prosperity  and  independence." 

Mr.  Lincoln  resumed :  As  with  all  general  propositions 
doubtless  there  will  be  shades  of  difference  in  construing  this] 
I  have  by  no  means  a  thoroughly  matured  judgment  upon  this 
subject,  especially  as  to  details ;  some  general  ideas  are  about 
all.  I  have  long  thought  to  produce  any  necessary  article  at 
home  which  can  be  made  of  as  good  quality  and  with  as  little 
labor  at  home  as  abroad,  would  be  better  policy,  at  least  by  the 
difference  of  the  carrying  from  abroad.  In  such  a  case  the 
carrying  is  demonstrably  a  dead  loss  of  labor.  For  instance, 
labor  being  the  true  standard  of  value,  is  it  not  plain  that  if 
equal  labor  gets  a  bar  of  railroad  iron  out  of  a  mine  in  Eng 
land,  and  another  out  of  a  mine  in  Pennsylvania,  each  can  be 
laid  down  in  a  track  at  home  cheaper  than  they  could  exchange 
countries,  at  least  by  the  cost  of  carriage  ?  If  there  be  a  pres 
ent  cause  why  one  can  be  both  made  and  carried  cheaper  in 
money  price  than  the  other  can  be  made  without  carrying,  that 
cause  is  an  unnatural  and  injurious  one,  and  ought  naturally  if 
not  rapidly  to  be  removed.  The  condition  of  the  treasury  at 
this  time  would  seem  to  render  an  early  revision  of  the  Tarifi' 
indispensable.  The  Morrill  Tariff  bill,  now  pending  before 
Congress,  may  or  may  not  become  a  law.  I  ani  not  posted  aa 


21 


to  its  particular  provisions,  but  if  they  are  generally  satisfac 
tory  and  the  bill  shall  now  pass,  there  will  be  an  end  of  the 
matter  for  the  present.  If,  however,  it  shall  not  pass,  I  suppose 
the  whole  subject  will  be  one  of  the  most  pressing  and  impor 
tant  for  the  next  Congress.  By  the  Constitution,  the  Executive 
may  recommend  measures  which  he  may  think  proper,  and  he 
may  veto  those  he  thinks  improper,  and  it  is  supposed  that  he 
may  add  to  these  certain  indirect  influences  to  affect  the  action 
of  Congress.  My  political  education  strongly  inclines  me  against 
a  very  free  use  of  any  of  these  means  by  the  Executive  to  con 
trol  the  legislation  of  the  country.  As  a  rule,  I  think  it  better 
that  Congress  should  originate  as  well  as  perfect  its  measures 
without  external  bias.  I,  therefore,  would  rather  recommend 
to  every  gentleman  who  knows  he  is  to  be  a  member  of  the  next 
Congress,  to  take  an  enlarged  view,  and  inform  himself  thor 
oughly,  so  as  to  contribute  his  part  to  such  an  adjustment  of 
the  tariff  as  shall  produce  a  sufficient  revenue,  and  in  its  other 
bearings,  so  far  as  possible,  be  just  and  equal  to  all  sections  of 
the  country  and  all  classes  of  the  people. 

SPEECH    AT   BUFFALO. 

Mr.  Mayor  and  Fellow- Citizens  of  Buffalo  and  the  State  of 
New  York — I  am  here  to  thank  you  briefly  for  this  grand  recep 
tion  given  to  me,  not  personally,  but  as  the  representative  of 
our  great  and  beloved  country.  [Cheers.]  Your  worthy  Mayor 
has  been  pleased  to  mention,  in  his  address  to  me,  the  fortunate 
and  agreeable  journey  which  I  have  had  from  home,  only  it  is  a 
rather  circuitous  route  to  the  Federal  capital.  I  am  very  happy 
that  he  was  enabled  in  truth  to  congratulate  myself  and  com 
pany  on  that  fact.  It  is  true  we  have  had  nothing  thus  far  to 
mar  the  pleasure  of  the  trip.  We  have  not  been  met  alone  by 
those  who  assisted  in  giving  the  election  to  me ;  I  say  not  alone 
by  them,  but  by  the  whole  population  of  the  country  through 
which  we  have  passed.  This  is  as  it  should  be.  Had  the  elec 
tion  fallen  to  any  other  of  the  distinguished  candidates  instead 
of  myself,  under  the  peculiar  circumstances,  to  say  the  least,  it 
would  have  been  proper  for  all  citizens  to  have  greeted  him  as 


22  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

you  now  greet  me.  It  is  an  evidence  of  the  devotion  of  the 
whole  people  to  the  Constitution,  the  Union,  and  the  perpetuity 
of  the  liberties  of  this  country.  [Cheers.]  I  am  unwilling  on 
any  occasion  that  I  should  be  so  meanly  thought  of  as  to  have 
it  supposed  for  a  moment  that  these  demonstrations  are  ten 
dered  to  me  personally.  They  are  tendered  to  the  country,  to 
the  institutions  of  the  country,  and  to  the  perpetuity  of  the 
liberties  of  the  country,  for  which  these  institutions  were  made 
"and  created. 

Your  worthy  Mayor  has  thought  fit  to  express  the  hope  that 
I  may  be  able  to  relieve  the  country  from  the  present,  or,  I 
should  say,  the  threatened  difficulties.  I  am  sure  I  bring  a 
heart  true  to  the  work.  [Tremendous  applause.]  For  the 
ability  to  perform  it,  I  must  trust  in  that  Supreme  Being  who 
has  never  forsaken  this  favored  land,  through  the  instrumental 
ity  of  this  great  and  intelligent  people.  Without  that  assist 
ance  I  shall  surely  fail ;  with  it  I  cannot  fail.  When  we  speak 
of  threatened  difficulties  to  the  country,  it  is  natural  that  it 
should  be  expected  that  something  should  be  said  by  myself 
with  regard  to  particular  measures.  Upon  more  mature  reflec 
tion,  however — and  others  will  agree  with  me — that,  when  it  is 
considered  that  these  difficulties  are  without  precedent,  and 
never  have  been  acted  upon  by  any  individual  situated  as  I  am, 
it  is  most  proper  I  should  wait  and  see  the  developments,  and 
get  all  the  light  possible,  so  that  when  I  do  speak  authoritative 
ly,  I  may  be  as  near  right  as  possible.  [Cheers.]  When  I  shall 
speak  authoritatively,  I  hope  to  say  nothing  inconsistent  with 
the  Constitution,  the  Union,  the  rights  of  all  the  States,  of  each 
State,  and  of  each  section  of  the  country,  and  not  to  disappoint 
the  reasonable  expectations  of  those  who  have  confided  to  me 
their  votes.  In  this  connection  allow  me  to  say  that  you,  as  a 
portion  of  the  great  American  people,  need  only  to  maintain 
your  composure,  stand  up  to  your  sober  convictions  of  right, 
to  your  obligations  to  the  Constitution,  and  act  in  accordance 
with  those  sober  convictions,  and  the  clouds  which  now  arise  in 
the  horizon  will  be  dispelled,  and  we  shall  have  a  bright  and 
glorious  future ;  and  when  this  generation  has  passed  away, 
tens  of  thousands  will  inhabit  this  country  where  only  thou- 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  23 

sands  inhabit  it  now.  I  do  not  propose  to  address  you  at  length ; 
I  have  no  voice  for  it.  Allow  me  again  to  thank  yon  for  this 
magnificent  reception,  and  bid  you  farewell. 

The  following  brief  recognition  of  his  welcome  at  Uti- 
ca,  is  marked  by  a  trait  of  that  whimsical  humor  which 
did  much  to  smooth  the  rugged  road  over  which  Mr- 
Lincoln  was  called  to  pass  to  glory  and  the  grave. 

AT   UTICA. 

Ladies  and  Gentlemen — I  have  no  speech  to  make  to  you,  and 
no  time  to  speak  in.  I  appear  before  you  that  I  may  see  you, 
and  that  you  may  see  me  ;  and  I  am  willing  to  admit,  that  so 
far  as  the  ladies  are  concerned,  I  have  the  best  of  the  bargain, 
though  I  wish  it  to  be  understood  that  I  do  not  make  the  same 
acknowledgment  concerning  the  men.  [Laughter  and  applause.] 

SPEECH   IN   THE   HALL   OF   ASSEMBLY   AT   ALBANY. 

Mr.  President  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Legislature  of  the  State  of 
Neio  York — It  is  with  feelings  of  great  diffidence,  and  I  may  say, 
with  feelings  of  awe,  perhaps  greater  than  I  have  recently  ex 
perienced,  that  I  meet  you  here  in  this  place.  The  history  of 
this  great  State,  the  renown  of  those  great  men  who  have  stood 
here,  and  spoken  here,  and  been  heard  here,  all  crowd  around  my 
fancy,  and  incline  me  to  shrink  from  any  attempt  to  address 
you.  Yet  I  have  some  confidence  given  me  by  the  generous 
manner  in  which  you  have  invited  me,  and  by  the  still  more 
generous  manner  in  which  you  have  received  me,  to  speak  fur 
ther.  You  have  invited  and  received  me  without  distinction  of 
party.  I  cannot  for  a  moment  suppose  that  this  has  been  done, 
in  any  considerable  degree,  with  reference  to  my  personal  ser 
vices,  but  that  it  is  done  in  so  far  as  I  am  regarded  at  this  time 
as  the  representative  of  the  majesty  of  this  great  nation.  I 
doubt  not  this  is  the  truth,  and  the  whole  truth  of  the  case,  and 
this  is  as  it  should  be.  It  is  much  more  gratifying  to  me  that 
this  reception  has  been  given  to  me  as  the  representative  of  a 
free  people,  than  it  could  possibly  be  if  tendered  as  an  evidence 


2-i  THE   MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

of  devotion  to  me,  or  to  any  one  man  personally.  And  now  I 
think  it  were  more  fitting  that  I  should  close  these  hasty  re 
marks.  It  is  true  that,  while  I  hold  myself,  without  mock 
modesty,  the  humblest  of  all  individuals  that  have  ever  been 
elevated  to  the  Presidency,  I  have  a  more  difficult  task  to  per 
form  than  any  one  of  them.  You  have  generously  tendered  me 
the  united  support  of  the  great  Empire  State.  For  this,  in  be 
half  of  the  nation — in  behalf  of  the  present  and  future  of  the 
nation — in  behalf  of  civil  and  religious  liberty  for  all  time  to 
come,  most  gratefully  do  I  thank  you.  I  do  not  propose  to 
enter  into  an  explanation  of  any  particular  line  of  policy  as  to 
our  present  difficulties,  to  be  adopted  by  the  incoming  Admin 
istration.  I  deem  it  just  to  you,  to  myself,  and  to  all,  that  I 
should  see  everything,  that  I  should  hear  everything,  that  I 
should  have  every  light  that  can  be  brought  within  my  reach,  in 
order  that  when  I  do  so  speak,  I  shall  have  enjoyed  every  oppor 
tunity  to  take  correct  and  true  grounds ;  and  for  this  reason  I 
don't  propose  to  speak,  at  this  time,  of  the  policy  of  the  Gov 
ernment.  But  when  the  time  comes  I  shall  speak,  as  well  as  I 
am.  able,  for  the  good  of  the  present  and  future  of  this  country — 
for  the  good  both  of  the  North  and  the  South  of  this  country — 
for  the  good  of  the  one  and  the  other,  and  of  all  sections  of  the 
country.  [Rounds  of  applause.]  In  the  meantime,  if  we  have 
patience,  if  we  restrain  ourselves,  if  we  allow  ourselves  not  to 
run  off  in  a  passion,  I  still  have  confidence  that  the  Almighty, 
the  Maker  of  the  Universe,  will,  through  the  instrumentality  of 
this  great  and  intelligent  people,  bring  us  through  this  as  he 
has  through  all  the  other  difficulties  of  our  country.  Relying 
on  this,  I  again  thank  you  for  this  generous  reception."  [Ap 
plause  and  cheers.] 

SPEECH   AT   THE   ASTOR   HOUSE,   NEW   YORK. 

Mr.  Chairman  and  Gentlemen — I  am  rather  an  old  man  to 
avail  myself  of  such  an  excuse  as  I  am  now  about  to  do.  Yet 
the  truth  is  so  distinct,  and  presses  itself  so  distinctly  upon  me, 
that  I  cannot  well  avoid  it — and  that  is,  that  I  did  not  under 
stand  when  I  was  brought  into  this  room  that  I  was  brought 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  25 

here  to  make  a  speech.  It  was  not  intimated  to  me  that  I  was 
brought  into  the  room  where  DANIEL  WEBSTER  and  HENRY 
CLAY  had  made  speeches,  and  where,  in  my  position,  I  might  be 
expected  to  do  something  like  those  men,  or  do  something  wor 
thy  of  myself  or  my  audience.  I,  therefore,  will  beg  you  to 
make  very  great  allowance  for  the  circumstances  in  which  I 
have  been  by  surprise  brought  before  you.  NOWT,  I  have  been 
in  the  habit  of  thinking  and  speaking  sometimes  upon  political 
questions  that  have  for  some  years  past  agitated  the  country ; 
and  if  I  were  disposed  to  do  so,  and  we  could  take  up  some  one 
of  the  issues,  as  the  lawyers  call  them,  and  I  were  called  upon 
to  make  an  argument  about  it  to  the  best  of  my  ability,  I  could 
do  so  without  much  preparation.  But,  that  is  not  what  you 
desire  to  be  done  here  to-night. 

I  have  been  occupying  a  position,  since  the  Presidential  elec 
tion,  of  silence,  of  avoiding  public  speaking,  of  avoiding  public 
writing.  I  have  been  doing  so,  because  I  thought,  upon  full 
consideration,  that  was  the  proper  course  for  me  to  take. 
[Great  applause.]  I  am  brought  before  you  now,  and  required 
to  make  a  speech,  when  you  all  approve  more  than  anything 
else  of  the  fact  that  I  have  been  keeping  silence.  [Great  laugh 
ter,  cries  of  "  Good,"  and  applause.]  And  now  it  seems  to  me 
that  the  response  you  give  to  that  remark  ought  to  justify  me 
in  closing  just  here.  [Great  laughter.]  I  have  not  kept  silence 
since  the  Presidential  election  from  any  party  wantonness,  or 
from  any  indifference  to  the  anxiety  that  pervades  the  minds  of 
men  about  the  aspect  of  the  political  affairs  of  this  country.  I 
have  kept  silence  for  the  reason  that  I  supposed  it  was  pecu 
liarly  proper  that  I  should  do  so  until  the  time  came  when,  ac 
cording  to  the  custom  of  the  country,  I  could  speak  officially. 

A  voice — The  custom  of  the  country  ? 

I  heard  some  gentleman  say,  "  According  to  the  custom  of  the 
country."  I  alluded  to  the  custom  of  the  President-elect,  at 
the  time  of  taking  the  oath  of  office.  That  is  what  I  meant  by 
"  the  custom  of  the  country."  I  do  suppose  that,  while  the  po 
litical  drama  being  enacted  in  this  country,  at  this  time,  is  rap 
idly  shifting  its  scenes — forbidding  an  anticipation,  vfiih  any 
degree  of  certainty,  to-day,  what  we  shall  see  to-morrow — it 

2 


26  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

was  peculiarly  fitting  that  I  should  see  it  all,  up  to  the  last  min 
ute,  before  I  should  take  ground  that  I  might  be  disposed  (by 
the  shifting  of  the  scenes  afterwards)  also  to  shift.  [Applause.] 
I  have  said,  several  times,  upon  this  journey,  and  I  now  repeat 
it  to  you,  that  when  the  time  does  come,  I  shall  then  take  the 
ground  that  I  think  is  right — [applause] — the  ground  that  I 
think  is  right — [applause,  and  cries  of  u  Good,  good"] — right 
for  the  North,  for  the  South,  for  the  East,  for  the  West,  for  the 
whole  country.  [Cries  of  "  Good,"  "Hurrah  for  Lincoln,"  and 
applause.]  And  in  doing  so,  I  hope  to  feel  no  necessity  pressing 
upon  me  to  say  anything  in  conflict  with  the  Constitution ;  in 
conflict  with  the  continued  union  of  these  States — [applause] — 
in  conflict  with  the  perpetuation  of  the  liberties  of  this  people 
— [applause] — or  anything  in  conflict  with  any  thing  whatever 
that  I  have  ever  given  you  reason  to  expect  from  me.  [Applause.] 
And  now,  my  friends,  have  I  said  enough  ?  [Loud  cries  of  "  No, 
no,"  and  three  cheers  for  Lincoln.]  Now,  my  friends,  there  ap 
pears  to  be  a  difference  of  opinion  between  you  and  me,  and  I 
really  feel  called  upon  to  decide  the  question  myself.  [Ap 
plause,  during  which  Mr.  Lincoln  descended  from  the  table.] 

AT   THE    CITY    HALL,     NEW    YORK, 

Mr.  Lincoln  was  formally  received  by  the  then  Mayor, 
Mr.  Fernando  Wood,  in  the  following  words  : 

Mr.  Lincoln — As  Mayor  of  New  York,  it  becomes  my  duty  to 
extend  to  you  an  official  welcome  in  behalf  of  the  Corporation. 
In  doing  so  permit  me  to  say,  that  this  city  has  never  offered 
hospitality  to  a  man  clothed  with  more  exalted  powers,  or  rest 
ing  under  graver  responsibilities,  than  those  which  circum 
stances  have  devolved  upon  you.  Coming  into  office  with  a 
dismembered  Government  to  reconstruct,  and  a  disconnected 
and  hostile  people  to  reconcile,  it  will  require  a  high  patriotism, 
and  an  elevated  comprehension  of  the  whole  country  and  its 
varied  interests,  opinions,  and  prejudices,  to  so  conduct  public 
affairs  as  to  bring  it  back  again  to  its  former  harmonious,  consoli 
dated,  and  prosperous  condition.  If  I  refer  to  this  topic,  sir,  it  is 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  27 

because  New  York  is  deeply  interested.  The  present  political 
divisions  have  sorely  afflicted  her  people.  All  her  material  in 
terests  are  paralyzed.  Her  commercial  greatness  is  endangered. 
She  is  the  child  of  the  American  Union.  She  has  grown  up  un 
der  its  maternal  care,  and  been  fostered  by  its  paternal  bounty, 
and  we  fear  that  if  the  Union  dies,  the  present  supremacy  of 
New  York  may  perish  with  it.  To  you,  therefore,  chosen  un 
der  the  forms  of  the  Constitution  as  the  head  of  the  Confederacy, 
we  look  for  a  restoration  of  fraternal  relations  between  the 
States — only  to  be  accomplished  by  peaceful  and  conciliatory 
means,  aided  by  the  wisdom  of  Almighty  God. 

Events  showed  the  utter  foolishness  and  presumption  of 
Mr.  Wood  in  thus  attempting  to  dictate  to  Abraham  Lin 
coln,  and  in  his  declaration,  that  New  York  was  the  child 
of  the  American  Union  and  that  the  Union  in  its  integ 
rity  and  prosperity  was  to  be  restored  only  by  peaceful 
and  conciliatory  means.  Mr.  Lincoln  met  these  solemn 
platitudes  with  the  following  expression  of  his  clear-headed 
common  sense  and  patriotism. 

Mr.  Mayor — It  is  with  feelings  of  deep  gratitude  that  I  make 
my  acknowledgments  for  the  reception  that  has  been  given  me 
in  the  great  commercial  city  of  New  York.  I  cannot  but  re 
member  that  it  is  done  by  the  people,  who  do  not,  by  a  large 
majority,  agree  with  me  in  political  sentiment.  It  is  the  more 
grateful  to  me,  because  in  this  I  see  that  for  the  great  principles  of 
our  Government  the  people  are  pretty  nearly  or  quite  unani 
mous.  In  regard  to  the  difficulties  that  confront  us  at  this  time, 
and  which  you  have  seen  fit  to  speak  so  becomingly  and  so  justly, 
I  can  only  say  that  I  agree  with  the  sentiments  expressed.  In 
my  devotion  to  the  Union  I  hope  I  am  behind  no  man  in  the 
nation.  As  to  my  wisdom  in  conducting  affairs  so  as  to  tend  to 
the  preservation  of  the  Union,  I  fear  too  great  confidence  may 
have  been  placed  in  me.  I  am  sure  I  bring  a  heart  devoted  to 
the  work.  There  is  nothing  that  could  ever  bring  me  to  con 
sent—willingly  to  consent — to  the  destruction  of  this  Union  (in 


28  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

which  not  only  the  great  city  of  New  York,  but  the  whole 
country,  has  acquired  its  greatness),  unless  it  would  be  that 
thing  for  which  the  Union  itself  was  made.  I  understand  that 
the  ship  is  made  for  the  carrying  and  preservation  of  the  cargo  ; 
and  so  long  as  the  ship  is  safe  with  the  cargo,  it  shall  not  be 
abandoned.  This  Union  shall  never  be  abandoned,  unless  the 
possibility  of  its  existence  shall  cease  to  exist,  without  the  ne 
cessity  of  throwing  passengers  and  cargo  overboard.  So  long, 
then,  as  it  is  possible  that  the  prosperity  and  liberties  of  this 
people  can  be  preserved  within  this  Union,  it  shall  be  my  pur 
pose  at  all  times  to  preserve  it.  And  now,  Mr.  Mayor,  renewing 
my  thanks  for  this  cordial  reception,  allow  me  to  come  to  a 
close.  [Applause.] 

AT   NEWARK 

Mr.  Lincoln  uttered  the  following  brief  but  significant 
sentences : 

Mr.  Mayor — I  thank  you  for  this  reception  at  the  city  of  New 
ark.  With  regard  to  the  great  work  of  which  you  speak,  I  will 
say  that  I  bring  to  it  a  heart  filled  with  love  for  my  country,  and 
an  honest  desire  to  do  what  is  right.  I  am  sure,  however,  that 
I  have  not  the  ability  to  do  any  thing  unaided  of  God,  and  that 
without  his  support,  and  that  of  this  free,  happy,  prosperous, 
and  intelligent  people,  no  man  can  succeed  in  doing  that  the 
importance  of  whioh  we  all  comprehend.  Again  thanking  you 
for  the  reception  you  have  given  me,  I  will  now  bid  you  fare 
well,  and  proceed  upon  my  journey. 

SPEECHES  AT   TRENTON,    N.    J. 
IN  THE   SENATE   CHAMBER. 

Mr.  President  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Senate  of  the  State  of  New 
Jersey — I  am  very  grateful  to  you  for  the  honorable  reception 
of  which  I  have  been  the  object.  I  can  not  but  remember  the 
place  that  New  Jersey  holds  in  our  early  history.  In  the  early 
revolutionary  struggle  few  of  the  States  among  the  old  thirteen 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  29 

had  more  of  the  battle-fields  of  the  country  within  their  limits 
than  old  New  Jersey.  May  I  be  pardoned  if,  upon  this  occa 
sion,  I  mention  that  away  back  in  my  childhood,  the  earliest 
days  of  my  being  able  to  read,  I  got  hold  of  a  small  book,  such 
a  one  as  few  of  the  younger  members  have  ever  seen,  "  WEEM'S 
Life  of  Washington"  I  remember  all  the  accounts  there  given 
of  the  battle-fields  and  struggles  for  the  liberties  of  the  country, 
and  none  fixed  themselves  upon  my  imagination  so  deeply  as 
the  struggle  here  at  Trenton,  New  Jersey.  The  crossing  of  the 
river ;  the  contest  with  the  Hessians ;  the  great  hardships  endured 
at  that  time,  all  fixed  themselves  on  my  memory,  more  than  any 
single  revolutionary  event;  and  you  all  know,  for  you  have  all 
been  boys,  how  these  early  impressions  last  longer  than  any 
others.  I  recollect  thinking  then,  boy  even  though  I  was,  that 
there  must  have  been  something  more  than  common  that  these 
men  struggled  for.  I  am  exceedingly  anxious  that  that  thing 
which  they  struggled  for;  that  something  even  more  than 
National  Independence ;  that  something  that  held  out  a  great 
promise  to  all  the  people  of  the  world  to  all  time  to  come — I 
am  exceedingly  anxious  that  this  Union,  the  Constitution,  and 
the  liberties  of  the  people  shall  be  perpetuated  in  accordance 
with  the  original  idea  for  which  that  struggle  was  made,  and  I 
shall  be  most  happy  indeed  if  I  shall  be  an  humble  instrument 
in  the  hands  of  the  Almighty  and  of  this,  his  most  chosen  peo 
ple,  as  the  chosen  instrument — also  in  the  hands  of  the  Almighty 
— for  perpetuating  the  object  of  that  great  struggle.  You  give 
me  .this  reception,  as  I  understand,  without  distinction  of  party. 
I  learn  that  this  body  is  composed  of  a  majority  of  gentlemen 
who,  in  the  exercise  of  their  best  judgment  in  the  choice  of  a 
Chief  Magistrate,  did  not  think  I  was  the»man.  I  understand, 
nevertheless,  that  they  come  forward  here  to  greet  me  as  the 
constitutional  President  of  the  United  States — as  citizens  of  the 
United  States,  to  meet  the  man  who,  for  the  time  being,  is  the 
representative  man  of  the  nation — united  by  a  purpose  to  per 
petuate  the  Union  and  liberties  of  the  people.  As  such,  I  accept 
this  reception  more  gratefully  than  I  could  do  did  I  believe  it 
was  tendered  to  me  as  an  individual. 


30  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 


IN   THE   HOUSE   OF   ASSEMBLY. 

Mr.  Speaker  and  Gentlemen — I  have  just  enjoyed  the  honor  of 
a  reception  by  the  other  branch  of  this  Legislature,  and  I  return, 
to  you  and  them  my  thanks  for  the  reception  which  the  people 
of  New  Jersey  have  given,  through  their  chosen  representatives, 
to  me  as  the  representative,  for  the  time  being,  o£  the  majesty 
of  the  people  of  the  United  States.  I  appropriate  to  myself 
very  little  of  the  demonstrations  of  respect  with  which  I  have 
been  greeted.  I  think  little  should  be  given  to  any  man,  but 
that  it  should  be  a  manifestation  of  adherence  to  the  Union  and 
the  Constitution.  I  understand  myself  to  be  received  here  by 
the  representatives  of  the  people  of  New  Jersey,  a  majority  of 
whom  differ  in  opinion  from  those  with  whom  I  have  acted. 
This  manifestation  is,  therefore,  to  be  regarded  by  me  as  express 
ing  their  devotion  to  the  Union,  the  Constitution,  and  the  liberties 
of  the  people.  You,  Mr.  Speaker,  have  well  said,  that  this  is  a 
time  when  the  bravest  and  wisest  look  with  doubt  and  awe  upon 
the  aspect  presented  by  our  national  affairs.  Under  these  cir 
cumstances,  you  will  readily  see  why  I  should  not  speak  in  detail 
of  the  course  I  shall  deem  it  best  to  pursue.  It  is  proper  that 
I  should  avail  myself  of  all  the  information  and  all  the  time  at 
my  command,  in  order  that  when  the  time  arrives  in  which  I 
must  speak  officially,  I  shall  be  able  to  take  the  ground  which 
I  deem  the  best  and  safest,  and  from  which  I  may  have  no  occasion 
to  swerve.  I  shall  endeavor  to  take  the  ground  I  deem  most 
just  to  the  North,  the  East,  the  West,  the  South,  and  the  whole 
country.  I  take  it,  I  hope,  in  good  temper,  certainly  with  no 
malice  towards  any  section.  I  shall  do  all  that  may  be  in  my 
power  to  promote  &  peaceful  settlement  of  all  our  difficulties. 
The  man  does  not  live  who  is  more  devoted  to  peace  than  I  am. 
[Cheers.]  None  who  would  do  more  to  preserve  it,  but  it  may 
be  necessary  to  put  the  foot  down  firmly.  [Here  the  audience 
broke  out  into  cheers  so  loud,  and  long,  that  for  some  moments 
it  was  impossible  to  hear  Mr.  Lincoln's  voice.]  And  if  I  do 
my  duty  and  do  right  you  will  sustain  me,  will  you  no  I  ?  [Loud 
cheers,  and  cries  of  "  Yes,  yes,  we  will."]  Received,  as  I  am, 
by  the  members  of  a  Legislature,  the  majority  of  whom  do  not 


31 


agree  with  me  in  political  sentiments,  I  trust  that  I  may  have 
their  assistance  in  piloting  the  ship  of  state  through  this  voyage, 
surrounded  by  perils  as  it  is,  for  if  it  should  suffer  wreck  now, 
there  will  be  no  pilot  ever  needed  for  another  voyage.  Gentle 
men,  I  have  already  spoken  longer  than  I  intended,  and  must 
beg  leave  to  stop  here. 

• 

SPEECHES   AT    PHILADELPHIA. 

Mr.  Mayor  and  Fellow-  Citizens  of  Philadelphia — I  appear  before 
you  to  make  no  lengthy  speech,  but  to  thank  you  for  this  recep 
tion.  The  reception  you  have  given  me  to-night  is  not  to  me, 
the  man,  the  individual,  but  to  the  man  who  temporarily  repre 
sents,  or  should  represent  the  majesty  of  the  nation.  [Cheers.] 
It  is  true,  as  your  worthy  Mayor  has  said,  that  there  is  anxiety 
amongst  the  citizens  of  the  United  States  at  this  time.  I  deem 
it  a  happy  circumstance  that  this  dissatisfied  position  of  our 
fellow-citizens  does  not  point  us  to  anything  in  which  they  are 
being  injured,  or  about  to  be  injured,  for  which  reason  I  have 
felt  all  the  while  justified  in  concluding  that  the  crisis,  the  panic, 
the  anxiety  of  the  country  at  this  time,  is  artificial.  If  there  be 
those  who  differ  with  me  upon  this  subject,  they  have  not  pointed 
out  the  substantial  difficulty  that  exists.  I  do  not  mean  to  say 
that  an  artificial  panic  may  not  do  considerable  harm  :  that  it 
has  done  such  I  do  not  deny.  The  hope  that  has  been  expressed 
by  your  Mayor,  that  I  may  be  able  to  restore  peace,  harmony,  and 
prosperity  to  the  country,  is  most  worthy  of  him ;  and  hmppy, 
indeed,  will  I  be  if  I  shall  be  able  to  verify  and  fulfill  that  hope. 
[Tremendous  cheering.]  I  promise  you,  in  all  sincerity,  that  I 
bring  to  the  work  a  sincere  heart.  Whether  I  will  bring  a  head 
equal  to  that  heart  will  be  for  future  times  to.  determine.  It 
were  useless  for  me  to  speak  o?  details  of  plans  now ;  I  shall 
speak  officially  next  Monday  week,  if  ever.  If  I  should  not 
speak  then  it  were  useless  for  me  to  do  so  now.  If  I  do  speak 
then  it  is  useless  for  me  to  do  so  now.  When  I  do  speak  I  shall 
take  such  ground  as  I  deem  best  calculated  to  restore  peace,  har 
mony,  and  prosperity  to  the  country,  and  tend  to  the  perpetuity 
of  the  nation  and  the  liberty  of  these  States  and  these  people. 


32        THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

Your  worthy  Mayor  has  expressed  the  wish,  in  which  I  join 
with  him,  that  it  were  convenient  for  me  to  remain  in  your  city 
long  enough  to  consult  your  merchants  and  manufacturers ;  or, 
as  it  were,  to  listen  to  those  breathings  rising  within  the  conse 
crated  walls  wherein  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  and 
I  will  add,  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  were  originally 
framed  and  adopted.  [Enthusiastic  applause.]  I  assure  you 
and  your  Mayor  that  IJiad  hoped  on  this  occasion*  and  upon  all 
occasions  during  my  life,  that  I  should  do  nothing  inconsistent 
with  the  teachings  of  these  holy  and  most  sacred  walls.  I 
never  asked  anything  that  does  not  breathe  from  these  walls.  All 
my  political  warfare  has  been  in  favor  of  the  teachings  that 
came  forth  from  these  sacred  walls.  May  my  right  hand  forget 
its  cunning,  and  my  tongue  cleave  to  the  roof  of  my  mouth,  if 
ever  I  prove  false  to  those  teachings.  Fellow-citizens,  I  have 
addressed  you  longer  than  I  expected  to  do,  and  now  allow  me 
to  bid  you  good  night. 


AT   INDEPENDENCE   HALL, 

In  Philadelphia,  Mr.  Lincoln  was  present  to  honor  the 
raising  of  a  new  flag  upon  that  time-honored  building. 
He  raised  the  flag  with  his  own  hands,  and  afterward 
made  the  following  speech,  in  which  he  made  a  striking 
allusion,  which  subsequent  events  gave  reason  for  be- 
lievihg  was  not  made  by  mere  chance,  to  the  possibility 
of  his  life  being  sought  by  assassins.  The  purposes  of 
the  men  who  were  then  seeking  to  get  him  out  of  their 
way  by  the  knife  and  the  pistol,  were  frustrated  for  four 
years,  long  enough  for  him*to  accomplish  the  great  object 
of  his  life — the  preservation  and  the  regeneration  of  his 
country. 

Mr.  Cuyler — I  am  filled  with  deepemotion  at  finding  myself 
standing  here  in  this  place,  where  were  collected  together  the 
wisdom,  the  patriotism,  the  devotion  to  principle  from  which 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  33 

sprang  the  institutions  under  which  we  live.  You  have  kindly 
suggested  to  me  that  in  my  hands  is  the  task  of  restoring  peace 
to  the  present  distracted  condition  of  the  country.  I  can  say 
in  return,  sir,  that  all  the  political  sentiments  I  entertain  have 
been  drawn,  so  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  draw  them,  from  the 
sentiments  which  originated  in  and  were  given  to  the  world 
from  this  hall.  I  have  never  had  a  feeling,  politically,  that  did 
not  spring  from  the  sentiments  embodied  in  the  Declaration  of 
Independence.  I  have  often  pondered  over  the  dangers  which 
were  incurred  by  the  men  who  assembled  here,  and  framed  and 
adopted  that  Declaration  of  Independence.  I  have  pondered 
Over  the  toils  that  were  endured  by  the  officers  and  soldiers  of 
the  army  who  achieved  that  Independence.  I  have  often  in 
quired  of  myself  what  great  principle  or  idea  it  was  that  kept 
this  Confederacy  so  long  together.  It  was  not  the  mere  mat 
ter  of  the  separation  of  the  Colonies  from  the  mother  land, 
but  that  sentiment  in  the  Declaration  of  Independence  which 
gave  liberty,  not  alone  to  the  people  of  this  country,  but  I 
hope,  to  the  wTorld,  for  all  future  time.  [Great  applause.]  It 
was  that  which  gave  promise  that  in  due  time  the  weight  would 
be  lifted  from  the  shoulders  of  all  men.  This  is  the  sentiment 
embodied  in  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  Now,  my 
friends,  can  this  country  be  saved  upon  that  basis  ?  If  it  can, 
I  will  consider  myself  one  of  the  happiest  men  in  the  world  if 
I  can  help  to  save  it.  If  it  cannot  be  saved  upon  that  principle 
it  will  be  truly  awful.  But  if  this  country  cannot  be  saved 
without  giving  up  that  principle,  I  was  about  to  say  I  would 
rather  be  assassinated  on  this  spot  than  surrender  it,  [Ap 
plause.]  Now,  in  my  view  of  the  present  aspect  of  affairs, 
there  need  be  no  bloodshed  or  war.  There  is  no  necessity  for 
it.  I  am  not  in  favor  of  such  a  course,  and  I  may  say  in  ad 
vance  that  there  will  be  no  bloodshed,  unless  it  be  forced  upon 
the  Government,  and  then  it  will  be  compelled  to  act  in  self- 
defence.  [Applause.] 

My  friends,  this  is  wholly  an  unexpected  speech,  and  I  did 
not  expect  to  be  called  upon  to  say  a  word  when  I  came  here. 
I  supposed  it  was  merely  to  do  something  towards  raising  the 
flag— I  may  therefore,  have  said  something  indiscreet.  [Cries 

2* 


34 


of  "  No,  no."]      I  have  said  nothing  but  what  I  am  willing  to 
live  by,  and  if  it  be  the  pleasure  of  Almighty  God,  die  by. 

AT  HARRISBURG. 

From  Philadelphia,  Mr.  Lincoln  went  to  Harrisburg, 
where  he  was  received  by  the  presiding  officers  of  the 
Houses  of  Legislature  at  the  Capitol.  To  his  welcome 
he  made  the  following  reply  : 

I  appear  before  you  only  for  a  very  few,  brief  remarks,  in  re 
sponse  to  what  has  been  said  to  me.  I  thank  you  most  sin 
cerely  for  this  reception  and  the  generous  wprds  in  which  sup 
port  has  been  promised  me  upon  this  occasion.*1  I  thank  your 
great  Commonwealth  for  the  overwhelming  support  it  recently 
gave,  not  me  personally,  but  the  cause  which  I  think  a  just  one, 
in  the  late  election.  [Loud  applause.]  Allusion  has  been 
made  to  the  fact — the  interesting  fact,  perhaps,  we  should  say — 
that  I  for  the  first  time  appear  at  the  Capital  of  the  great  Com 
monwealth  of  Pennsylvania  upon  the  birthday  of  the  Father  of 
his  Country,  in  connection  with  that  beloved  anniversary  con 
nected  with  the  history  of  this  country.  I  have  already  gone 
through  one  exceedingly  interesting  scene  this  morning  in  the 
ceremonies  at  Philadelphia.  Under  the  high  conduct  of  gentle 
men  there,  I  was  for  the  first  time  allowed  the  privilege  of  stand 
ing  in  old  Independence  Hall  [Enthusiastic  cheering],  to  have  a 
few  words  addressed  to  me  there,  and  opening  up  to  me  an  op 
portunity  of  expressing,  with  much  regret,  that  I  had  not  more 
time  to  express  something  of  my  own  feelings,  excited  by  the  occa 
sion,  somewhat  to  harmonize  and  give  shape  to  the  feelings 
that  had  been  really  the  feelings  of  my  whole  life.  Besides  this, 
our  friends  there  had  provided  a  magnificent  flag  of  the  country. 
They  had  it  arranged  so  that  I  was  given  the  honor  of  raising 
it  to  the  head  of  its  staff.  [Applause.]  And  when  it  went  up 
I  was  pleased  that  it  went  to  its  place  by  the  strength  of  my  own 
feeble  arm,  when,  according  to  the  arrangement,  the  cord  was 
pulled,  and  it. floated  gloriously  to  the  wind,  without  an  acci 
dent,  in  the  light,  glowing  sunshine  of  the  morning.  I  could 
not  help  hoping  that  there  was,  in  the  entire  success  of  that 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  35 

t 

beautiful  ceremony,  at  least  something  of  an  omen  of  what  is  to 
come.  [Loud  applause.]  How  could  I  help  feeling  then  as  I 
often  have  felt  ?  In  the  whole  of  that  proceeding  I  was  a  very 
humble  instrument.  I  had  not  provided  the  flagj  I  had  not 
made  the  arrangements  for  elevating  it  to  its  place ;  I  had  ap 
plied  but  a  very  small  portion  of  my  feeble  strength  .in  raising 
it.  In  the  whole  transaction  I  was  in  the  hands  of  the  people 
who  had  arranged  it,  and  if  I  can  have  the  same  generous  co 
operation  of  the  people  of  the  nation,  I  think  the  flag  of  our 
country  may  yet  be  kept  flaunting  gloriously.  [Loud,  enthu 
siastic,  and  continued  cheers.]  I  recur  for  a  moment  but  to  re 
peat  some  words  uttered  at  the  hotel,  in  regard  to  what  has 
been  said  about  the  military  support  which  the  General  Govern 
ment  may  expect  from  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania  in  a 
proper  emergency.  To  guard  against  any  possible  mistake  do 
I  recur  to  this.  It  is  not  with  any  pleasure  that  I  contemplate 
the  possibility  that  a  necessity  may  arise  in  this  country  for  the 
use  of  the,  military  arm.  [Applause.]  While  I  am  exceedingly 
gratified  to  see  the  manifestation  upon  your  streets  of  your  mili 
tary  force  here,  and  exceedingly  gratified  at  your  promises  here 
to  use  that  force  upon  a  proper  emergency — while  I  make  these 
acknowledgments,  I  desire  to  repeat,  in  order  to  preclude  any 
possible  misconstruction,  that  I  do  most  sincerely  hope  that  we 
shall  have  no  use  for  them.  [Applause.]  That  it  will  never 
become  their  duty  to  shed  blood,  and  most  especially  never  to 
shed  fraternal  blood.  I  promise  that,  so  far  as  I  may  have 
wisdom  to  direct,  if  so  painful  a  result  shall  in  anywise  be 
brought  about,  it  shall  be  through  no  fault  of  mine.  [Cheers.] 
Allusion  has  also  been  made  by  one  of  your  honored  speakers 
to  some  remarks  recently  made  by  myself  at  Pittsburg,  in  regard 
to  what  is  supposed  to  be  the  especial  interest  of  this  great 
Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania.  I  now  wish  only  to  say,  in 
regard  to  that  matter,  that  the  few  remarks  which  I  uttered  on 
that  occasion  were  rather  carefully  worded.  I  took  pains  that 
they  should  be  so.  I  have  seen  no  occasion  since  to  add  to 
them,  or  subtract  from  them.  I  leave  them  precisely  as  they 
stand  [applause],  adding  only  now  that  I  am  pleased  to  have 
an  expression  from  you,  gentlemen  of  Pennsylvania,  significant 
that  they  are  satisfactory  to  you.  And  now,  gentlemen  of  the 


36"  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

General  Assembly  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania,  allow 
me  to  return  you  again  my  most  sincere  thanks. 

From  Ilarrisburg  the  President-elect  went  by  a  night 
train,  and  as  privately  as  possible,  to  Washington  :  it  hav 
ing  been  thought  best  t}y  his  advisers  thus  to  preclude 
the  possibility  of  any  excitement  or  disturbance,  which 
could  have  been  taken  *  ad  vantage  of  by  his  secret  and 
desperate  enemies.  The  day  after  his  arrival  he  made 
the  following  reply  to  his  welcome  by  the  Mayor  and 
Common  Council 

AT   WASHINGTON. 

Mr.  Mayor — I  thank  you,  and  through  you  the  municipal 
authorities  of  this  city  who  accompany  you,  for  this  welcome. 
And  as  it  is  the  first  time  in  my  life,  since  the  present  phase  of 
politics  has  presented  itself  in  this  country,  that  I  have  said  any 
thing  publicly  within  a  region  of  country  where  the  institution 
of  slavery  exists,  I  will  take  this  occasion  to  say,  that  I  think 
very  much  of  the  ill-feeling  that  has  existed  and  still  exists 
between  the  people  in  the  section  from  which  I  came  and  the 
people  here,  is  dependent  upon  a  misunderstanding  of  one 
another.  I  therefore  avail  myself  of  this  opportunity  to  assure 
you,  Mr.  Mayor,  and  all  the  gentlemen  present,  that  I  have  not 
now,  and  never  have  had,  any  other  than  as  kindly  feelings 
towards  you  as  to  the  people  of  my  own  section.  I  have  not  now, 
and  never  have  had,  any  disposition  to  treat  you  in  any  respect 
otherwise  than  as  my  own  neighbors.  I  have  not  now  any 
purpose  to  withhold  from  you  any  of  the  benefits  of  the  Consti 
tution,  under  any  circumstances,  that  I  would  not  feel  myself 
constrained  to  withhold  from  my  own  neighbors ;  and  1  hope, 
in  a  word,  that  when  we  shall  become  better  acquainted,  and  I 
say  it  with  great  confidence,  we  shall  like  each  other  the  more. 
I  thank  you  for  the  kindness  of  .this  reception. 

On  the  4th  of  March,  1861,  Mr.  Lincoln  assumed  the 
office  of  President  of  the  United  States,  to  which  Vice- 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  37 

President  Breckinridge  had  declared  in  the  Senate  that 
he  had  been  lawfully  elected.  But  in  seven  States,  South 
Carolina,  Georgia,  Alabama,  Mississippi,  Texas,  Florida, 
and  Louisiana,  his  lawful  authority  could  not  be  exercised, 
those  States  being  under  the  control  of  the  rebels,  while 
Virginia,  Maryland,  Kentucky,  and  Tennessee  were  vio 
lently  agitated  upon  the  subject  of  secession.  In  all  of 
these  four  States  there  was  a  majority  of  the  people,  inclu 
ding  men  of  high  character  and  ability,  faithful  to  their  al 
legiance  to  the  National  Government.  President  Lincoln's 
first  task  was  to  take  such  a  position  as  would  consolidate 
the  support  of  that  Government  in  the  Free  States  and 
confirm  the  loyalty  of  the  Border  States,  and  if  possible, 
prevent  them  from  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  Seces 
sionist  party.  ^This  was  the  chief  purpose  of  his  inaugu 
ral  address,  which  follows. 

INAUGURAL   ADDRESS. 

Fellow- Citizens  of  the  United  States — In  compliance  with  a 
custom  as  old  as  the  Government  itself,  I  appear  before  you  to 
address  you  briefly,  and  to  take  in  your  presence  the  oath  pre 
scribed  by  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  to  be  taken  by 
the  President  "  before  he  enters  on  the  execution  of  his  office." 

I  do  not  consider  it  necessary  at  present  for  me  to  discuss 
those  matters  of  administration  about  which  there  is  no  special 
anxiety  or  excitement. 

Apprehension  seems  to  exist  among  the  people  of  the  South 
ern  States  that  by  the  accession  of  a  Republican  Administration 
their  property  and  their  peace  and  personal  security  are  to  be 
endangered.  There  has  never  been  any  reasonable  cause  for 
such  apprehension.  Indeed  the  most  ample  evidence  to  the  con 
trary  has  all  the  while  existed  and  been  open  to  their  inspection. 
It  is  found  in  nearly  all  the  published  speeches  of  him  who  now 
addresses  you.  I  do  but  quote  from  one  of  those  speeches  when 
I  declare  that  "  I  have  no  purpose,  directly  or  indirectly,  to 


38 


interfere  with  the  institution  of  slavery  in  the  States  where  it 
exists."  I  believe  I  have  no  lawful  right  to  do  so,  and  I  have  no 
inclination  to  do  so."  Those  who  nominated  and  elected  me 
did  so  with  full  knowledge  that  I  had  made  this  and  many  sim 
ilar  declarations,  and  had  never  recanted  them.  And  more  than 
this,  they  placed  in  the  platform  for  my  acceptance,  and  as  a  law 
to  themselves  and  to  me,  the  clear  and  emphatic  resolution 
Which  I  now  read : 

Resolved,  That  the  maintenance  inviolate  of  the  rights  of  the 
States,  and  especially  the  rights  of  each  State,  to  order  and  con 
trol  its  own  domestic  institutions  according  to  its  own  judgment 
exclusively,  is  essential  to  the  balance  of  power  on  which  the 
perfection  and  endurance  of  our  political  fabric  depend,  and 
we  denounce  the  lawless  invasion  by  armed  force  of  the  soil  of 
any  State  or  Territory,  no  matter  under  what  pretext,  as  among 
the  gravest  of  crimes. 

I  now  reiterate  these  sentiments ;  and,  in  doing  so,  I  only  im 
press  upon  the  public  attention  the  most  couclilsive  evidence  of 
which  the  case  is  susceptible,  that  the  property,  peace,  and 
security  of  no  section  are  to  be  in  any  wise  endangered  by  the 
now  incoming  Administration.  I  add,  too,  that  all  the  protec 
tion  which,  consistently  with  the  Constitution  and  the  laws,  can 
be  given,  will  be  cheerfully  given  to  all  the  States,  when  law 
fully  demanded,  for  whatever  cause— as  cheerfully  to  one  section 
as  to  another. 

There  is  much  controversy  about  the  delivering  up  of  fugi 
tives  from  service  or  labor.  The  clause  I  now  read  is  as  plainly 
written  in  the  Constitution  as  any  other  of  its  provisions : 

"  No  person  held  to  service  or  labor  in  one  State,  under  the  laws 
thereof,  escaping  into  another,  shall,  in  consequence  of  any  law 
or  regulation  therein,  be  discharged  from  such  service  or  labor, 
but  shall  be  delivered  up  on  claim  of  the  party  to  whom  such 
service  or  labor  may  be  due." 

It  is  scarcely  questioned  that  this  provision  was  intended  by 
those  who  made  it  for  the  reclaiming  of  what  we  call  fugitive 
slaves ;  and  the  intention  of  the  lawgiver  is  the  law.  All  mem 
bers  of  Congress  swear  their  support  to  the  whole  Constitution 
—to  this  provision  as  much  as  any  other.  To  the  proposition, 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  39 

then,  that  slaves,  whose  cases  come  within  the  terms  of  this 
clause,  "shall  be  delivered  up,"  their  oaths  are  unanimous. 
Now,  if  they  would  make  the  effort  in  good  temper,  could  they 
not,  with  nearly  equal  unanimity,  frame  aud  pass  a  law  by  means 
of  which  to  keep  good  that  unanimous  oath  ? 

There  is  some  difference  of  opinion  whether  this  clause  should 
be  enforced  by  National  or  by  State  authority ;  but  surely  that 
difference  is  not  a  very  material  one.  If  the  slave  is  to  be  sur 
rendered,  it  can  be  of  but  little  consequence  to  him,  or  to  others 
by  which  authority  it  is  done.  And  should  any  one,  in  any 
case,  be  content  that  his  oath  shall  go  unkept,  on  a  mere  unsub 
stantial  controversy  as  to  how  it  shall  be  kept  ? 

Again,  in  any  law  upon  this  subject,  ought  not  all  the  safe 
guards  of  liberty  known  in  civilized  and  humane  jurisprudence 
to  be  introduced,  so  that  a  free  man  be  not,  in  any  case,  surren 
dered  as  a  slave  ?  And  might  it  not  be  well,  at  the  same  time, 
to  provide  by  law  for  the  enforcement  of  that  clause  in  the 
Constitution  which  guarantees  that  "  the  citizens  of  each  State 
shall  be  entitled  to  all  privileges  and  immunities  of  citizens  in 
the  several  States  ?" 

I  take  the  official  oath  to-day  with  no  mental  reservations,  and 
with  no  purpose  to  construe  the  Constitution  or  laws  by  any 
hypercritical  rules.  And  while  I  do  not  choose  now  to  specify 
particular  acts  of  Congress  as  proper  to  be  enforced,  I  do  sug 
gest  that  it  will  be  much  safer  for  all,  both  in  official  and  private 
stations,  to  conform  to  and  abide  by  all  those  acts  which  stand 
unrepealed,  than  to  violate  any  of  them,  trusting  to  find  impu 
nity  in  having  them  held  to  be  unconstitutional. 

It  is  seventy-two  years  since  the  first  inauguration  of  a  Presi 
dent  under  our  national  Constitution.  During  that  period, 
fifteen  different  and  greatly  distinguished  citizens  have,  in  suc 
cession,  administered  the  Executive  branch  of  the  Government. 
They  have  conducted  it  through  many  perils,  and  generally  with 
great  success.  Yet,  with  all  this  scope  for  precedent,  I  now 
enter  upon  the  same  task  for  the  brief  constitutional  term  of 
four  years,  under  great  and  peculiar  difficulty.  A  disruption  of 
the  Federal  Union,  heretofore  only  menaced,  is  now  formidably 
attempted. 


40        THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

I  hold  that,  in  contemplation  of  universal  law,  and  of  the 
Constitution,  the  Union  of  thtse  States  is  perpetual.  Perpetuity 
is  implied,  if  not  expressed,  in  the  fundamental  law  of  all 
national  governments.  It  is  safe  to  assert  that  no  government 
proper  ever  had  a  provision  in  its  organic  law  for  its  own  termi 
nation.  Continue  to  execute  all  the  express  provisions  of  our 
national  Constitution,  and  the  Union  will  endure  forever — it 
being  impossible  to  destroy  it,  except  by  some  action  not  pro 
vided  for  in  the  instrument  itself. 

Again,  if  the  United  States  be  not  a  government  proper,  but 
an  association  of  States  in  the  nature  of  contract  merely,  can  it, 
as  a  contract,  be  peaceably  unmade  by  less  than  all  the  parties 
who  made  it  ?  One  party  to  a  contract  may  violate  it — break 
it,  so  to  speak ;  but  does  it  not  require  all  to  lawfully  rescind  it  ? 

Descending  from  these  general  principles,  we  find  the  propo 
sition  that,  in  legal  contemplation,  the  Union  is  perpetual,  con 
firmed  by  the  history  of  the  Union  itself.  The  Union  is  much 
older  than  the  Constitution.  It  was  formed,  in  fact,  by  the  Arti 
cles  of  Association  in  1774.  It  was  matured  and  continued  by 
the  Declaration  of  Independence  in  1776.  It  was  further 
matured,  and  the  faith  of  all  the  then  Thirteen  States  expressly 
plighted  and  engaged  that  it  should  be  perpetual,  by  the  Arti 
cles  of  Confederation  in  1778.  And,  finally,  in  1787,  one  of  the 
declared  objects  for  ordaining  and  establishing  the  Constitution 
was  "  to  form  a  more  perfect  union." 

But  if  destruction  of  the  Union,  by  one,  or  by  a  part  only, 
of  the  States  be  lawfully  possible,  the  Union  is  less  perfect 
than  before,  the  Constitution  having  lost  the  vital  element  of 
perpetuity. 

It  follows,  from  these  views,  that  no  State,  upon  its  own 
mere  motion,  can  lawfully  get  out  of  the  Union ;  that  resolves 
and  ordinances  to  that  effect  are  legally  void ;  and  that  acts  of 
violence  within  any  State  or  States,  against  the  authority  of  the 
tlnited  States,  are  insurrectionary  or  revolutionary,  according 
to  circumstances. 

I,  therefore,  consider  that,  in  view  of  the  Constitution  and 
the  laws,  the  Union  is  unbroken,  and  to  the  extent  of  my  ability 
I  shall  take  care,  as  the  Constitution  itself  expressly  enjoins 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  41 

upon  me,  that  the  laws  of  the  Union  be  faithfully  executed  in 
all  the  States.  Doing  this  I  deem  to  be  only  a  simple  duty  on 
my  part ;  and  I  shall  perform  it,  so  far  as  practicable,  unless 
my  rightful  masters,  the  American  people,  shall  withhold  the 
requisite  means,  or,  in  some  authoritative  manner,  direct  the 
contrary.  I  trust  this  will  not  be  regarded  as  a  menace,  but 
only  as  the  declared  purpose  of  the  Union  that  it  will  constitu 
tionally  defend  and  maintain  itself. 

In  doing  this  there  need  be  no  bloodshed  or  violence ;  and 
there  shall  be  none,  unless  it  be  forced  upon  the  national  author 
ity.  The  power  confided  to  me  will  be  used  to  hold,  occupy, 
and  possess  the  property  and  places  belonging  to  the  Govern 
ment,  and  to  collect  the  duties  and  imposts ;  but  beyond  what 
may  be  but  necessary  for  these  objects,  there  will  be  no  invasion, 
no  using  of  force  against  or  among  the  people  anywhere. 
Where  hostility  to  the  United  States,  in  any  interior  locality, 
shall  be  so  great  and  universal  as  to  prevent  competent  resident 
citizens  from  holding  the  Federal  offices,  there  will  be  no  attempt 
to  force  obnoxious  strangers  among  the  people  for  that  object. 
Where  the  strict  legal  right  may  exist  in  the  Government  to 
enforce  the  exercise  of  these  offices,  the  attempt  to  do  so  would 
be  so  irritating,  and  so  nearly  impracticable  withal,  I  deem  it 
better  to  forego,  for  the  time,  the  uses  of  such  offices. 

The  mails,  unless  repelled,  will  continue  to  be  furnished  in 
all  parts  of  the  Union.  So  far  as  possible  the  people  every 
where  shall  have  that  sense  of  perfect  security  which  is  most 
favorable  to  calm  thought  and  reflection.  The  course  here  in 
dicated  will  be  followed,  unless  current  events  and  experience 
shall  show  a  modification  or  change  to  be  proper,  and  in  every 
case  and  exigency  my  best  discretion  will  be  exercised,  accord 
ing  to  circumstances  actually  existing,  and  with  a  view  and  a 
hope  of  a  peaceful  solution  of  the  national  troubles,  and  the 
restoration  of  fraternal  sympathies  and  affections. 

That  there  are  persons  in  one  section  or  another  who  seek  to 
destroy  the  Union  at  all  events,  and  are  glad  of  any  pretext  to 
do  it,  I  will  neither  affirm  nor  deny;  but  if  there  be  such,  I 
need  address  no  word  to  them.  To  those,  however,  who  really 
love  the  Union,  may  I  not  speak  ? 


42 


Before  entering  upon  so  grave  a  matter  as  the  destruction  of 
our  national  fabric,  with  all  its  benefits,  its  memories,  and  its  hopes, 
would  it  not  be  wise  to  ascertain  precisely  why  we  do  it  ?  Will  you 
hazard  so  desperate  a  step  while  there  is  any  possibility  that  any 
portion  of  the  ills  you  fly  from  have  no  real  existence  ?  Will  you 
while  the  certain  ills  you  fly  to  are  greater  than  all  the  real  ones 
you  fly  from — will  you  risk  the  commission  of  so  fearful  a  mistake  ? 

All  profess  to  be  content  in  the  Union,  if  all  constitutional 
rights  can  be  maintained.  Is  it  true,  then,  that  any  right, 
plainly  written  in  the  Constitution,  has  been  denied  ?  I  think 
not.  Happily  the  human  mind  is  so  constituted  that  no  party 
can  reach  to  the  audacity  of  doing  this.  Think,  if  you  can, 
•of  a  single  instance  in  which  a  plainly  written  provision  of  the 
Constitution  has  ever  been  denied.  If,  by  the  mere  force  of 
numbers,  a^  majority  should  deprive  a  minority  of  any  clearly 
written  constitutional  right,  it  might,  in  a  moral  point  of  view 
justify  revolution, — certainly  would  if  such  right  were  a  vital 
one.  But  such  is  not  our  case.  All  the  vital  rights  of  minor 
ities  and  of  individuals  are  so  plainly  assured  to  them  by 
affirmations  and  negations,  guarantees  and  prohibitions  in  the 
Constitution,  that  controversies  never  arise  concerning  them. 
But  no  organic  law  can  ever  be  framed  with  a  provision  specifi 
cally  applicable  to  every  question  which  may  occur  in  practical 
administration.  No  foresight  can  anticipate,  nor  any  document 
of  reasonable  length  contain,  express  provisions  for  all  possible 
questions.  Shall  fugitives  from  labor  be  surrendered  by  Na 
tional  or  by  State  authority  ?  The  Constitution  does  not  ex 
pressly  say.  May  Congress  prohibit  slavery  in  the  Territories  ? 
The  Constitution  does  not  expressly  say.  Must  Congress  pro 
tect  slavery  in  the  Territories  ?  The  Constitution  does  not  ex 
pressly  say. 

From  questions  of  this  class  spring  all  our  constitutional 
controversies,  and  we  divide  upon  them  into  majorities  and 
minorities.  If  the  minority  will  not  acquiesce  the  majority 
must,  or  the  Government  must  cease.  There  is  no  other  alter 
native  ;  for  continuing  the  Government  is  acquiescence  on  one 
side  or  the  other.  If  a  minority  in  such  case  will  secede  rather 
than  acquiesce,  they  make  a  precedent  which,  in  turn,  will 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  43 

divide  and  ruin  them ;  for  a  minority  of  their  own  will  secede 
from  them  whenever  a  majority  refuses  to  be  controlled  by  such 
minority.  For  instance,  why  may  not  any  portion  of  a  new 
Confederacy,  a  year  or  two  hence,  arbitrarily  secede  again,  pre 
cisely  as  portions  of  the  present  Union  now  claim  to  secede 
from  it  ?  All  who  cherish  disunion  sentiments  are  now  being 
educated  to  the  exact  temper  of  doing  this. 

Is  there  such  perfect  identity  of  interests  among  the  States  to 
compose  a  new  Union,  as  to  produce  harmony  only,  and  prevent 
renewed  secession  ? 

Plainly,  the  central  idea  of  secession  is  the  essence  of  anarchy. 
A  majority  held  in  restraint  by  constitutional  checks  and  limi 
tations,  and  always  changing  easily  with  deliberate  changes  of 
popular  opinions  and  sentiments,  is  the  only  true  sovereign 
of  a  free  people.  Whoever  rejects  it,  does,  of  necessity,  fly  to 
anarchy  or  to  despotism.  Unanimity  is  impossible ;  the  rule 
of  a  minority,  as  a  permanent  arrangement,  is  wholly  inadmis 
sible  ;  so  that,  rejecting  the  majority  principle,  anarchy  or  des 
potism  in  some  form  is  all  that  is  left. 

I  do  not  forget  the  position  assumed  by  some,  that  constitu 
tional  questions  are  to  be  decided  by  the  Supreme  Court ;  nor 
do  I  deny  that  such  decisions  must  be  binding,  in  any  case, 
upon  the  parties  to  a  suit  as  to  the  object  of  that  suit,  while 
they  are  also  entitled  to  a  very  high  respect  and  consideration, 
in  all  parallel  cases,  by  all  other  departments  of  the  Govern 
ment.  And  while  it  is  obviously  possible  that  such  decisions 
may  be  erroneous  in  any  given  case,  still  the  evil  effect  following 
it  being  limited  to  that  particular  case,  with  the  chance  that  it 
may  be  overruled,  and  never  become  a  precedent  for  other 
cases,  can  better  be  borne  than  could  the  evils  of  a  different 
practice.  At  the  same  time  the  candid  citizen  must  confess  that 
if  the  policy  of  the  Government  upon  vital  questions  affecting 
the  whole  people,  is  to  be  irrevocably  fixed  by  decisions  of  the 
Supreme  Court,  the  instant  they  are  made  in  ordinary  litigation 
between  parties  in  personal  actions,  the  people  will  have  ceased 
to  be  their  own  rulers,  having  to  that  extent  practically  resigned 
their  Government  into  the  hands  of  that  eminent  tribunal. 

Nor  is  there  in  this  view  any  assault  upon  the  Court  of  the 


44  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

Judges.  It  is  a  duty  from  which  they  may  not  shrink  to  decide 
cases  properly  brought  before  them,  and  it  is  no  fault  of  theirs 
if  others  seek  to  turn  their  decisions  to  political  purposes. 
One  section  of  our  country  believes  slavery  is  right,  and  ought 
to  be  extended,  while  the  other  believes  it  is  wrong,  and  ought 
not  to  be  extended.  This  is  the  only  substantial  dispute.  The 
fugitive  slave  clause  of  the  Constitution,  and  the  law  for  the 
suppression  of  the  foreign  slave-trade,  are  each  as  well  enforced, 
perhaps,  as  any  law  can  ever  be  in  a  community  where  the 
moral  sense  of  the  people  imperfectly  support  the  law  itself 
The  great  body  of  the  people  abide  by  the  dry  legal  obligation 
in  both  cases,  and  a  few  break  ove.r  in  each.  This,  I  think, 
cannot  be  perfectly  cured  ;  and  it  would  be  worse  in  both  cases 
after  the  separation  of  the  sections  than  before.  The  foreign 
slave-trade,  now  imperfectly  suppressed,  would  be  ultimately 
revived  without  restriction  in  one  section ;  while  fugitive  slaves, 
now  only  partially  surrendered,  would  not  be  surrendered  at  all 
by  the  other. 

Physically  speaking,  we  cannot  separate.  We  cannot  remove 
our  respective  sections  from  each  other,  nor  build  an  impassable 
wall  between  them.  A  husband  and  wife  may  be  divorced,  and 
go  out  of  the  presence  and  beyond  the  reach  of  each  other ;  but 
the  different  parts  of  our  country  cannot  do  this.  They  cannot 
but  remain  face  to  face;  and  intercourse,  either  amicable  or 
hostile,  must  continue  between  them.  It  is  impossible,  then,  to 
make  that  intercourse  more  advantagous  or  more  satisfactory 
after  separation  than  before.  Can  aliens  make  treaties  easier 
than  friends  can  make  laws  ?  Can  treaties  be  more  faithfully 
enforced  between  aliens  than  laws  can  among  friends  ?  Sup 
pose  you  go  to  war,  you  cannot  fight  always ;  and  when,  after 
much  loss  on  both  sides,  and  no  gain  on  either,  you  cease  fight 
ing,  the  identical  old  questions  as  to  terms  of  intercourse,  are 
again  upon  you. 

This  country,  with  its  institutions,  belongs  to  the  people  who 
inhabit  it.  Whenever  they  shall  grow  weary  of  the  existing  Gov 
ernment,  they  can  exercise  their  constitutional  right  of  amend 
ing  it,  or  their  revolutionary  right  to  dismember  or  overthrow 
it.  I  cannot  be  ignorant  of  the  fact  that  many  worthy  and 


45 


patriotic  citizens  are  desirous  of  having  the  national  Constitu 
tion  amended.  While  I  make  no  recommendation  of  amend 
ments,  I  fully  recognize  the  rightful  authority  of  the  people 
over  the  whole  subject,  to  be  exercised  in  either  of  the  modes 
prescribed  in  the  instrument  itself;  and  I  should,  under  exist 
ing  circumstances,  favor  rather  than  oppose  a  fair  opportunity 
being  afforded  the  people  to  act  upon  it.  I  will  venture  to  add, 
that  to  me  the  convention  mode  seems  preferable,  in  that  it 
allows  amendments  to  originate  with  the  people  themselves, 
instead  of  only  permitting  them  to  take  or  reject  propositions 
originated  by  others  not  especially  chosen  for  the  purpose,  and 
which  might  not  be  precisely  such  as  they  would  wish  to  either 
accept  or  refuse.  I  understand  a  proposed  amendment  to  the 
Constitution — which  amendment,  however,  I  have  not  seen — has 
passed  Congress,  to  the  effect  that  the  Federal  Government  shall 
never  interfere  with  the  domestic  institutions  of  the  States,  in 
cluding' that  of  persons  held  to  service.  To  avoid  misconstruc 
tion  of  what  I  have  said,  I  depart  from  my  purpose  not  to 
speak  of  particular  amendments  so  far  as  to  say  that,  holding 
such  a  provision  now  to  be  implied  constitutional  law,  I  bave 
no  objections  to  its  being  made  express  and  irrevocable. 

The  Chief  Magistrate  derives  all  his  authority  from  the  peo 
ple,  and  they  have  conferred  none  upon  him  to  fix  terms  for  the 
separation  of  the  States.  The  people  themselves  can  do  this 
also  if  they  choose  ;  but  the  Executive,  as  such,  has  nothing  to 
do  with  it.  His  duty  is  to  administer  the  present  Government 
as  it  came  to  his  hands,  and  to  transmit  it,  unimpaired  by  him, 
to  his  successor. 

Why  should  there  not  be  a  patient  confidence  in  the  ultimate 
justice  of  the  people  ?  Is  there  any  better  or  equal  hope  in  the 
world  ?  In  our  present  differences,  is  either  party  without 
faith  of  being  in  the  right  ?  If  the  Almighty  Ruler  of  Nations, 
with  his  eternal  truth  and  justice,  be  on  your  side  of  the  North, 
or  on  yours  of  the  South,  that  truth  and  that  justice  will  surely 
prevail,  by  the  judgment  of  this  great  tribunal  of  the  American 
people. 

By  the  frame  of  the  Government  under  which  we  live,  the 
same  people  have  wisely  given  their  public  servants  but  little 


46  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

power  for  mischief;  and  have,  with  equal  wisdom,  provided 
for  the  return  of  that  little  to  their  own  hands  at  very  short 
intervals.  While  the  people  retain  their  virtue  and  vigilance, 
no  Administration,  by  any  extreme  of  wickedness  or  folly,  can 
very  seriously  injure  the  Government  in  the  short  space  of  four 
years. 

My  countrymen,  one  and  all,  think  calmly  and  well  upon  this 
whole  subject.  Nothing  valuable  can  be  lost,  by  taking  time. 
If  there  be  an  object  to  hurry  any  of  you  in  hot  haste  to  a  step 
which  you  would  never  take  deliberately,  that  object  will  be 
frustrated  by  taking  time,  but  no  good  object  can  be  frustrated 
by  it.  Such  of  you  as  are  now  dissatisfied  still  have  the  old 
Constitution  unimpaired,  and,  on  the  sensitive  point,  the  laws 
of  your  own  framing  under  it ;  while  the  new  Administration 
will  have  no  immediate  power,  if  it  would,  to  change  either. 
If  it  were  admitted  that  you  who  are  dissatisfied  hold  the  right 
side  in  the  dispute,  there  still  is  no  single  good  reason  for 
precipitate  action.  Intelligence,  patriotism,  Christianity  and 
a  firm  reliance  on  Him  who  has  never  yet  forsaken  this  fav 
ored  land,  are  still  competent  to  adjust,  in  the  best  way,  all 
our  present  difficulty . 

In  your  hands,  my  dissatisfied  fellow-countrymen,  and  not  in 
mine,  is  the  momentous  issue  of  civil  war.  The  Government 
will  not  assail  you. 

You  can  have  no  conflict  without  being  yourselves  the  aggress 
ors.  You  have  no  oath  registered  in  heaven  to  destroy  the 
Government;  while  I  shall  have  the  most  solemn  one  to  "pre 
serve,  protect,  and  defend"  it. 

I  am  loth  to  close.  We  are  not  enemies,  but  friends.  We 
must  not  be  enemies.  Though  passion  may  have  straine  1,  it 
must  not  break  our  bonds  of  affection. 

The  mystic  chordfDf  memory,  stretching  from  everybattle-iield 
and  patriot  grave  to  every  living  heart  and  hearthstone  all  over 
this  broad  land,  will  yet  swell  the  chorus  of  the  Union,  when 
again  touched,  as  surely  they  will  be,  by  the  better  angels  of  our 
nature.  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

President  Lincoln's  views  and   announcement  of   h^ 


THE   MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  47 

policy  in  this  address  met  general  approval  throughout 
the  Free  States ;  but  in  the  Border  Slave  States  it  was 
at  first  a  mere  bone  of  contention  between  the  Union  men 
and  the  secessionists.  The  State  Convention  of  Vir 
ginia,  a  decided  majority  of  which  was  against  secession, 
sent  a  committee  of  three  to  the  President  to  ask  him  to 
define  his  position  toward  the  South  more  clearly.  He 
replied  by  the  following  letter  which  was  presented  to 
the  Convention  by  the  Committee,  on  the  13th  of  April : 

REPLY'  TO   THE    COMMITTEE    OF  THE    VIRGINIA    CONVEN 
TION. 

To  Hon.  Messrs.  Preston,  Stuart,  and  Randolph : 

GENTLEMEN  :  As  a  committee  of  the  Virginia  Convention, 
now  in  session,  you  present  me  a  preamble  and  resolution  in 
these  words : 

Whereas,  In  the  opinion  of  this  Convention,  the  uncertainty 
which  prevails  in  the  public  mind  as  to  the  policy  which  the 
Federal  Executive  intends  to  pursue  towards  the  seceded  States, 
is  extremely  injurious  to  the  industrial  and  commercial  interests 
of  the  country,  tends  to  keep  up  an  excitement  which  is  unfa 
vorable  to  the  adjustment  of  the  pending  difficulties,  and 
threatens  a  disturbance  of  the  public  peace  ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  a  committee  of  three  delegates  be  appointed 
to  await  on  the  President  of  the  United  States,  present  to  him 
this  preamble,  and  respectfully  ask  him  to  communicate  to  this 
Convention  the  policy  which  the  Federal  Executive  intends  to 
pursue  in  regard  to  the  Confederate  States. 

In  answer  I  have  to  say,  that  having,  at  the  beginning  of  my 
official  term,  expressed  my  intended  policy  as  plainly  as  I  was 
able,  it  is  with  deep  regret  and  mortification  I  now  learn  there 
is  great  and  injurious  uncertainty  in  the  public  mind  as  to  what 
that  policy  is,  and  what  course  I  intend  to  pursue.  Not  having 
as  yet  seen  occasion  to  change,  it  is  now  my  purpose  to  pursue 


48  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

the  course  marked  out  in  the  Inaugural  Address.  I  commend 
a  careful  consideration  of  the  whole  document  as  the  best  ex 
pression  I  can  give  to  my  purposes.  As  I  then  and  therein 
said,  I  now  repeat,  "  The  power  confided  in  me  will  be  used  to 
hold,  occupy,  and  possess  property  and  places  belonging  to  the 
Government,  and  to  collect  the  duties  and  imposts ;  but  beyond 
what  is  necessary  for  these  objects  there  will  be  no  invasion,  no 
using  of  force  against  or  among  the  people  anywhere."  By  the 
words  "  property  and  places  belonging  to  the  Government,"  I 
chiefly  allude  to  the  military  posts  and  property  which  were  in 
possession  of  the  Government  when  it  came  into  my  hands. 
But  if,  as  now  appears  to  be  true,  in  pursuit  of  a  purpose  to  drive 
the  United  States  authority  from  these  places,  an  unprovoked 
assault  has  been  made  upon  Fort  Sumter,  I  shall  hold  myself 
at  liberty  to  repossess  it,  if  I  can,  like  places  which  had  been 
seized  before  the  Government  was  devolved  upon  me ;  and  in 
any  event  I  shall,  to  the  best  of  my  ability,  repel  force  by  force. 
In  case  it  proves  true  that  Fort  Sumter  has  been  assaulted,  as  is 
reported,  I  shall  perhaps,  cause  the  United  States  mails  to  be 
withdrawn  from  all  the  States  which  claim  to  have  seceded, 
believing  that  the  commencement  of  actual  war  against  the 
Government,  justifies  and  possibly  demands  it.  I  scarcely  need 
to  say  that  I  consider  the  military  posts  and  property  situated 
within  the  States  which  claim  to  have  seceded,  as  yet  belonging 
to  the  Government  of  the  United  States  as  much  as  they  did  be 
fore  the  supposed  secession.  Whatever  else  I  may  do  for  the  pur 
pose,  I  shall  not  attempt  to  collect  the  duties  and  imposts  by  any 
armed  invasion  of  any  part  of  the  country ;  not  meaning  by  this, 
however,  that  I  may  not  land  a  force  deemed  necessary  to  relieve  a 
fort  upon  the  border  of  the  country.  From  the  fact  that  I  have 
quoted  a  part  of  the  Inaugural  Address,  it  must  not  be  inferred 
that  I  repudiate  any  other  part,  the  whole  of  which  I  reaffirm, 
except  BO  far  as  what  I  now  say  of  the  mails  may  be  regarded 
as  a  modification.  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

The  leading  secessionists  felt  sure  that  if  they  could 
bring  about  a  collision  between  what  they  called  the 
South  and  the  Government,  the  immediate  effect  would 


THE   MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  49 

be  such  an  aroused  spirit  of  resistance  among  all  the  lead 
ing  men  and  "fire-eaters"  in  the  Slave  States  as  would 
immediately  enable  the  secessionists  to  seize  power  in  the 
Border  States.  This  collision  they  sought  at  Charleston, 
where,  during  the  unavoidable  inaction  of  the  Govern 
ment,  they  had  at  first  planned  the  seizure  of  Fort  Moul- 
trie,  under  command  of  Major  Anderson,  and  after  his 
retirement  with  his  little  garrison  to  Fort  Sumter,  had 
surrounded  the  latter  work  with  powerful  shore  batteries 
and  a  force  of  many  thousand  men.  When  Mr.  Lincoln 
took  office  it  was  already  impossible  to  send  reinforce 
ments  to  the  garrison  before  their  provisions  would  be 
exhausted ;  and  upon  it  being  made  known  that  provisions 
were  about  to  be  sent,  General  Beauregard,  by  command 
of  Mr.  Jefferson  Davis,  who  had  been  elected  "  Provis 
ional  President"  of  a  temporary  Confederacy  with  head 
quarters  at  Montgomery,  Alabama,  opened  his  batteries 
upon  Major  Anderson,  and  after  two  days'  bombardment 
set  the  fort  on  fire,  and  made  it  untenable.  It  was  evac 
uated  on  the  14th  of  April,  amid  the  profoundest  excite 
ment  throughout  the  country,  and  on  the  loth  Mr.  Lin 
coln  issued  the  following 

PROCLAMATION. 

Whereas,  the  laws  of  the  United  States  have  been  for  some 
time  past  and  now  are  opposed,  and  the  execution  thereof  ob 
structed,  in  the  States  of  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  Alabama, 
Florida,  Mississippi,  Louisiana,  and  Texas,  by  combinations  too 
powerful  to  be  suppressed  by  the  ordinary  course  of  judicial 
proceedings,  or  by  the  powers  vested  in  the  marshals  by  law; 
now,  therefore,  I  Abraham  Lincoln,  President  of  the  United 
States,  in  virtue  of  the  power  in  me  vested  by  the  Constitution 
and  the  laws,  have  thought  tit  to  call  forth,  and  hereby  do  call 

3 


50  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

forth,  the  militia  of  the  several  States  of  the  Union  to  the  ag 
gregate  number  of  75,000,  in  order  to  suppress  said  combina 
tions,  and  to  cause  the  laws  to  be  duly  executed. 

The  details  for  this  object  will  be  immediately  communicated 
to  the  State  authorities  through  the  War  Department.  I  ap 
peal  to  all  loyal  citizens  to  favor,  facilitate,  and  aid  this  effort 
to  maintain  the  honor,  the  integrity,  and  existence  of  our  na 
tional  Union,  and  the  perpetuity  of  popular  government,  and  to 
redress  wrongs  already  long  enough  endured.  I  deem  it  proper 
to  say  that  the  first  service  assigned  to  the  forces  hereby  called 
forth,  will  probably  be  to  repossess  the  forts,  places,  and  pro 
perty  which  have  been  seized  from  the  Union ;  and  in  every 
event  the  utmost  care  will  be  observed,  consistently  with  the 
objects  aforesaid,  to  avoid  any  devastation,  any  destruction  of, 
or  interference  with,  property,  or  any  disturbance  of  peaceful 
citizens  of  any  part  of  the  country  ;  and  I  hereby  command  the 
persons  composing  the  combinations  aforesaid,  to  disperse  and 
retire  peaceably  to  their  respective  abodes,  within  twenty  days 
from  this  date. 

Deeming  that  the  present  condition  of  public  affairs  presents 
an  extraordinary  occasion,  I  do  hereby,  in  virtue  of  the  power 
in  me  vested  by  the  Constitution,  convene  both  houses  of  Con 
gress.  The  Senators  and  Representatives  are,  therefore,  sum 
moned  to  assemble  at  their  respective  chambers  at  twelve 
o'clock,  noon,  on  Thursday,  the  fourth  day  of  July  next,  then 
and  there  to  consider  and  determine  such  measures  as,  in  their 
wisdom,  the  pulbic  safety  and  interest  may  seem  to  demand. 

In  witness  whereof,  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand,  and  caused 
the  seal  of  the  United  States  to  be  affixed. 

Done  at  the  City  of  Washington,  this  fifteenth  day  of  April, 
in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty- 
one,  and  of  the  independence  of  the  United  States  the  eighty- 
fifth. 

By  the  President,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

WILLIAM  H.  SKWARD,  Secretary  of  Slate. 

There  can  be  no  question  that  the  President  issued  the 
foregoing  Proclamation  with  some  doubt  as  to  the  man- 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  51 

ner  in  which  it  would  be  received  by  the  country.  He 
must  have  been  somewhat  surprised  as  well  as  overjoyed 
at  finding  that  it  was  the  occasion  of  an  instant  and 
overwhelming  outburst  of  loyalty  and  devotion  to  the 
flag.  If  instead  of  asking  for  75,000  men  he  had  asked 
for  750,000,  they  would  have  been  forthcoming.  As  the 
confederated  insurgents  had  issued  proposals  for  letters  of 
marque  against  the  commerce  of  the  United  States,  the 
President,  to  meet  them  on  this  point,  issued  the  following : 

PROCLAMATION. 

Whereas^  an  insurrection  against  the  Government  of  the  Uni 
ted  States  has  broken  out  in  the  States  of  South  Carolina, 
Georgia,  Alabama,  Florida,  Mississippi,  Louisiana,  and  Texas, 
and  the  laws  of  the  United  States  for  the  collection  of  the  rev 
enue  cannot  be  efficiently  executed  therein  conformable  to  that 
provision  of  the  Constitution  which  requires  duties  to  be  uni 
form  throughout  the  United  States : 

And  whereas  a  combination  of  persons,  engaged  in  such  in 
surrection,  have  threatened  to  grant  pretended  letters  of  marque 
to  authorize  the  bearers  thereof  to  commit  assaults  on  the  lives, 
vessels,  and  property  of  the  good  citizens  of  the  country,  law 
fully  engaged  in  commerce  on  the  high  seas,  and  in  waters  of 
the  United  States : 

And  whereas  an  Executive  Proclamation  has  been  already 
issued,  requiring  the  persons  engaged  in  these  disorderly  pro 
ceedings  to  desist  therefrom,  calling  out  a  militia  force  for  the 
purpose  of  repressing  the  same,  and  convening  Congress  in  ex 
traordinary  session  to  deliberate  and  determine  thereon : 

Now,  therefore,  I,  Abraham  Lincoln,  President  of  the  United 
States,  with  a  view  to  the  same  purposes  before  mentioned, 
and  to  the  protection  of  the  public  peace,  and  the  lives  and 
property  of  quiet  and  orderly  citizens  pursuing  their  lawful 
occupations,  until  Congress  shall* have  assembled  and  deliber 
ated  on  the  said  unlawful  proceedings,  or  until  the  same  shall 
have  ceased,  have  further  deemed  it  advisable  to  set  on  foot  a 


52        THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

blockade  of  the  ports  within  the  States  aforesaid,  in  pursuance 
of  the  laws  of  the  United  States  and  of  the  laws  of  nations  in 
such  cases  provided.  For  this  purpose,  a  competent  force  will 
be  posted  so  as  to  prevent  entrance  and  exit  of  vessels  from 
the  ports  aforesaid.  If,  therefore,  with  a  view  to  violate  such 
blockade,  a  vessel  shall  approach,  or  shall  attempt  to  leave  any 
of  the  said  ports,  she  will  be  duly  warned  by  the  commander 
of  one  of  the  blockading  vessels,  who  will  endorse  on  her  reg 
ister  the  fact  and  date  of  such  warning ;  and  if  the  same  vessel 
shall  again  attempt  to  leave  or  enter  the  blockaded  port,  she 
will  be  captured  and  sent  to  the  nearest  convenient  port,  for 
such  proceedings  against  her  and  her  cargo  as  prize,  as  may  be 
deemed  advisable. 

And  I  hereby  proclaim  and  declare,  that  if  any  person,  under 
the  pretended  authority  of  such  States,  or  under  any  other 
pretence,  shall  molest  a  vessel  of  the  United  States,  or  the  per 
sons  or  cargo  on  board  of  her,  such  persons  will  be  held  amena 
ble  to  the  laws  of  the  United  States  for  the  prevention  and 
punishment  of  piracy. 

By  the  President,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

WILLIAM  H.  SEWAED,  Secretary  of  State. 

WASHINGTON,  April  19,  1861. 

The  consequences  of  the  attack  upon  Fort  Sumter 
were  in  the  Slave  States  just  what  the  insurgent  leaders 
expected.  Virginia  was  thrown  immediately  (on  the 
17th  of  April)  into  the  hands  of  the  insurgents.  Ten 
nessee  soon  followed,  her  Union  majority  being  for  the 
moment  overborne  by  the  audacity  of  the  secessionists. 
But  Maryland,  Kentucky,  and  Missouri,  although  pro 
foundly  agitated,  were  kept  within  the  pale  of  the  Union. 
It  is  needless  here  to  recount  the  exciting  scenes  which 
took  place  in  the  first  of  these  States,  and  especially  in 
Baltimore,  immediately  after  the  issuing  of  the  Procla 
mation  of  April  15th,  or  the  manner  in  which,  by  the  wis 
dom  and  forbearance  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  and  the  sagacity 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  53 

and  energetic  action  of  General  Butler,  Maryland  was 
prevented  from  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  audacious 
minority  who  wished  to  side  with  the  insurgents.  The 
Governor  of  this  State  in  his  perplexity  at  the  novel  con 
dition  of  public  affairs,  so  far  forgot  himself  as  to  propose 
to  Mr.  Lincoln  that  the  dispute  between  the  Government 
and  the  rebels  should  be  referred  to  the  British  Minister 
for  arbitration.  To  this  the  following  reply  was  made 
for  Mr.  Lincoln  by  Mr.  Seward  : 

If  eighty  years  could  have  obliterated  all  the  other  noble  sen 
timents  of  that  age  [1776]  in  Maryland,  the  President  would 
be  hopeful,  nevertheless,  that  there  is  one  that  would  forever 
remain  there  and  everywhere.  That  sentiment  is,  that  no  do 
mestic  contention  whatever  that  may  arise  among  the  parties 
of  this  republic,  ought  in  any  case  to  be  referred  to  any  foreign 
arbitrament,  least  of  all  to  the  arbitrament  of  a  European 
monarchy. 

And  here  may  be  properly  introduced  the  following 
extract  of  a  despatch  from  Mr.  Seward  to  Mr.  Adams, 
dated  April  10th,  1865,  in  which  the  bold  and  compre 
hensive  policy  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  administration  in  regard 
to  our  foreign  relations,  which  was  maintained  without 
swerving  throughout  the  war,  is  clearly  set  forth, 

POSITION   ASSUMED    TOWARDS  FOREIGN   GOVERNMENTS, 

Before  considering  the  arguments  you  are  to  use,  it  is  impor 
tant  to  indicate  those  which  you  are  not  to  employ  in  executing 
that  mission : 

First.  The  President  has  noticed,  as  the  whole  American  peo 
ple  have,  with  much  emotion,  the  expressions  of  good-will  and 
friendship  toward  the  United  States,  and  of  concern  for  their 
present  embarrassments,  which  have  been  made  on  apt  occa 
sions,  by  her  Majesty  and  her  ministers.  You  will  make  due 


54  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

acknowledgments  for  these  manifestations,  but  at  the  same  time 
you  will  not  rely  on  any  mere  sympathies  or  national  kindness. 
You  will  make  no  admissions  of  weakness  in  our  Constitution, 
or  of  apprehension  on  the  part  of  the  Government.  You  will 
rather  prove,  as  you  easily  can,  by  comparing  the  history  of  our 
country  with  that  of  other  States,  that  its  Constitution  and 
Government  are  really  the  strongest  and  surest  which  have  ever 
been  erected  for  the  safety  of  any  people.  You  will  in  no  case 
listen  to  any  suggestion  of  compromise  by  this  Government, 
under  foreign  auspices,  with  its  discontented  citizens.  If,  as  the 
President  does  not  at  all  apprehend,  you  shall  unhappily  find 
her  Majesty's  Government  tolerating  the  application  of  the 
so-called  seceding  States,  or  wavering  about  it,  you  will  not 
leave  them  to  suppose  for  a  moment  that  they  can  grant  that 
application  and  remain  the  friends  of  the  United  States.  You 
may  even  assure  them  promptly,  in  that  case,  that  if  they  deter 
mine  to  recognize,  they  may  at  once  prepare  to  enter  into  an 
alliance  with  the  enemies  of  this  republic.  You  alone  will  rep 
resent  your  country  at  London,  and  you  will  represent  the  whole 
of  it  there.  When  you  are  asked  to  divide  that  duty  with 
others,  diplomatic  relations  between  the  Government  of  Great 
Britain  and  this  Government  will  be  suspended,  and  will  remain 
so  until  it  shall  be  seen  which  of  the  two  is  most  strongly 
intrenched  in  the  confidence  of  their  respective  nations  and  of 
mankind. 

You  will  not  be  allowed,  however,  even  if  you  were  disposed, 
as  the  President  is  sure  you  will  not  be,  to  rest  your  opposition 
to  the  application  of  the  Confederate  States  on  the  ground  of 
any  favor  this  Administration,  or  the  party  which  chiefly  called 
it  into  existence,  proposes  to  show  to  Great  Britain,  or  claims 
that  Great  Britain  ought  to  show  them.  You  will  not  consent 
to  draw  into  debate  before  the  British  Government  any  oppos 
ing  moral  principles  which  may  be  supposed  to  lie  at  the  foun 
dation  of  the  controversy  between  those  States  and  the  Federal 
Union. 

You  will  indulge  in  no  expressions  of  harshness  or  disrespect, 
or  even  impatience,  concerning  the  seceding  States,  their  agents, 
or  their  people.  But  you  will,  on  the  contrarv.  all  the  while 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  55 

remember  that  those  States  are  now,  as  they  always  heretofore 
have  been,  and,  notwithstanding  their  temporary  self-delusion, 
they  must  always  continue  to  be,  equal  and  honored  members 
of  this  Federal  Union,  and  that  their  citizens  throughout  all 
political  misunderstandings  and  alienations  still  are  and  always 
must  be  our  kindred  and  countrymen.  In  short,  all  your  argu 
ments  must  belong  to  one  of  three  classes,  namely :  First.  Argu 
ments  drawn  from  the  principles  of  public  law  and  natural 
justice,  which  regulate  the  intercourse  of  equal  States.  Sec 
ondly.  Arguments  which  concern  equally  the  honor,  welfare,  and 
happiness  of  the  discontented  States,  and  the  honor,  welfare, 
and  happiness  of  the  whole  Union.  Thirdly.  Arguments  which 
are  equally  conservative  of  the  rights  and  interests,  and  even 
sentiments  of  the  United  States,  and  just  in  their  bearing  upon 
the  rights,  interests,  and  sentiments  of  Great  Britain  and  all 
other  nations. 

That  paper  purports  to  contain  a  decision  at  which  the  British 
Government  has  arrived,  to  the  eflfect  that  this  country  is  divided 
into  two  belligerent  parties,  of  which  this  Government  represents 
one,  and  that  Great  Britain  assumes  the  attitude  of  a  neutral 
between  them. 

This  Government  could  not,  consistently  with  a  just  regard 
for  the  sovereignty  of  the  United  States,  permit  itself  to  debate 
these  novel  and  extraordinary  positions  with  the  Government 
of  her  Britannic  Majesty ;  much  less  can  we  consent  that  that 
Government  shall  announce  to  us  a  decision  derogating  from 
that  sovereignty,  at  which  it  has  arrived  without  previously 
conferring  with  us  upon  the  question.  The  United  States  are 
still  solely  and  exclusively  sovereign  within  the  territories  they 
have  lawfully  acquired  and  long  possessed,  as  they  have  always 
been.  They  are  at  peace  with  all  the  world,  as,  with  unimpor 
tant  exceptions,  they  have  always  been.  They  are  living  under 
the  obligations  of  the  law  of  nations,  and  of  treaties  with 
Great  Britain,  just  the  same  now  as  heretofore;  they  are,  of 
course,  the  friends  of  Great  Britain,  and  they  insist  that  Great 
Britain  shall  remain  their  friends  now,  just  as  she  has  hitherto 
been.  Great  Britain,  by  virtue  of  these  relations,  is  a  stranger 
to  parties  and  sections  in  this  country,  whether  they  are  loyal 


56        THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

to  the  United  States  or  not,  and  Great  Britain  can  neither  right 
fully  qualify  the  sovereignty  of  the  United  States,  nor  concede, 
nor  recognize  any  rights,  or  interests,  or  power  of  any  party, 
State,  or  section,  in  contravention  to  the  unbroken  sovereignty 
of  the  Federal  Union.  What  is  now  seen  in  this  country  is  the 
occurrence,  by  no  means  peculiar,  but  frequent  in  all  countries, 
more  frequent  even  in  Great  Britain  than  here,  of  an  armed 
insurrection  engaged  in  attempting  to  overthrow  the  regularly 
constituted  and  established  Government.  There  is,  of  course, 
the  employment  of  force  by  the  Government  to  suppress  the 
insurrection^  as  every  other  government  necessarily  employs 
force  in  such  cases.  But  these  incidents  by  no  means  constitute 
a  state  of  war  impairing  the  sovereignty  of  the  Government, 
creating  belligerent  sections,  and  entitling  foreign  States  to  inter 
vene,  or  to  act  as  neutrals  between  them,  or  in  any  other  way 
to  cast  oif  their  lawful  obligations  to  the  nation  thus  for  the 
moment  disturbed.  Any  other  principle  than  this  would  be  to 
resolve  government  everywhere  into  a  thing  of  accident  and 
caprice,  and  ultimately  all  human  society  into  a  state  of  per 
petual  war. 

We  do  not  go  into  any  argument  of  fact  or  of  law  in  support 
of  the  position  we  have  thus  assumed.  They  are  simply  the 
suggestions  of  the  instinct  of  self-defence,  the  primary  law  of 
human  action — not  more  the  law  of  individual  than  of  national 
life. 

The  same  proclamation  which  called  for  a  volunteer 
army  summoned  an  extra  session  of  Congress,  to  take 
such  measures  as  were  required  by  the  extraordinary 
state  of  the  country.  Congress  assembled  on  the  4th  of 
July,  and  received  from  the  President  the  following 
Message,  in  which  he  set  forth  in  detail  the  events  which 
had  made  it  neces-ary  for  him  to  call  the  Houses  to 
gether.  The  document  is  remarkable  not  only  for  the 
calm,  judicial  tone  which  the  writer  preserved  in  it  in 
the  midst  of  such  a  period  of  excitement,  but  for  the 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  57 

clearness  with  which  it  sets  forth  those  views  of  the  con 
stitutional  questions  involved  in  the  struggle  just  begun, 
which  were  sustained  in  the  end  by  the  soundest  intel 
lect  in  the  country  as  well  as  by  the  Avhole  mass  of  the 
people. 


JULY  4TH,    1861. 

Fellow- Citizens  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives — 
Having  been  convened  on  an  extraordinary  occasion,  as  author 
ized  by  the  constitution,  your  attention  is  not  called  to  any 
ordinary  subject  of  legislation. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  present  presidential  term,  four  months 
ago,  the  functions  of  the  Federal  Government  were  found  to  be 
generally  suspended  within  the  several  States  of  South  Carolina, 
Georgia,  Alabama,  Mississippi,  Louisiana,  and  Florida,  except 
ing  only  those  of  the  Post-Office  Department. 

Within  these  States  all  the  forts,  arsenals,  dock-yards,  custom 
houses  and  the  like,  including  the  movable  and  stationary 
property  in  and  about  them,  had  been  seized,  and  were  held  in 
open  hostility  to  this  Government,  excepting  only  Forts  Pick- 
ens,  Taylor,  and  Jeiferson,  on  and  near  the  Florida  coast,  and 
Fort  Sumter,  in  Charleston  harbor,  South  Carolina.  The  forts 
thus  seized  had  been  put  in  improved  condition,  new  ones  had 
been  built,  and  armed  forces  had  been  organized  and  were 
organizing,  all  avowedly  for  the  same  hostile  purpose. 

The  foils  remaining  in  the  possession  of  the  Federal  Govern 
ment  in  and  near  these  States  were  either  besieged  or  menaced 
by  warlike  preparations,  and  especially  Fort  Sumter  was 
nearly  surrounded  by  well-protected  hostile  batteries,  with  guns 
equal  in  quality  to  the  best  of-  its  own,  and  outnumbering  the 
latter  as  perhaps  ten  to  one.  A  disproportionate  share  of  the 
Federal  muskets  and  rifles  had  somehow  found  their  way  into 
these  States,  and  had  been  seized  to  be  used  against  the  Govein- 
M  ient.  Accumulations  of  the  public  revenue,  lying  within  them, 
iiad  been  seized  for  the  same  object.  The  Navy  was  scattered 


58        THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

in  distant  seas,  leaving  but  a  very  small  part  of  it  within  the 
immediate  reach  of  the  Government.  Officers  of  the  Federal 
Army  and  Kavy  had  resigned  in  great  numbers ;  and  of  those 
resigning,  a  large  proportion  had  taken  up  arms  against  the 
Government.  Simultaneously,  and  in  connection  with  all  this, 
the  purpose  to  sever  the  Federal  Union  was  openly  avowed.  In 
accordance  with  this  purpose,  an  ordinance  had  been  adopted 
in  each  of  these  States,  declaring  the  States,  respectively,  to  be 
separated  from  the  National  Union.  A  formula  for  instituting 
a  combined  government  of  these  States  had  been  promulgated ; 
and  this  illegal  organization,  in  the  character  of  Confederate 
States,  was  already  invoking  recognition,  aid,  and  intervention 
from  foreign  Powers. 

Finding  this  condition  of  things,  and  believing  it  to  be  an 
imperative  duty  upon  the  incoming  Executive  to  prevent,  if 
possible,  the  consummation  of  such  attempt  to  destroy  the  Fed 
eral  Union,  a  choice  of  means  to  that  end  became  indispensable. 
This  choice  was  made,  and  was  declared  in  the  Inaugural  Address. 
The  policy  chosen  looked  to  the  exhaustion  of  all  peaceful  meas 
ures  before  a  report  to  any  stronger  ones.  It  sought  only  to 
hold  the  public  places  and  property  not  already  wrested  from  the 
Government,  and  to  collect  the  revenue,  relying  for  the  rest  on 
time,  discussion,  and  the  ballot-box.  It  promised  a  contin 
uance  of  the  mails,  at  Government  expense,  to  the  very  people 
who  were  resisting  the  Government;  and  it  gave  repeated 
pledges  against  any  disturbance  to  any  of  the  people,  or  any 
their  rights.  Of  all  that  which  a  President  might  constitution 
ally  and  justifiably  do  in  such  a  case,  everything  was  forborne, 
without  which  it  was  believed  possible  to  keep  the  Government 
on  foot. 

On  the  5th  of  March  (the  present  incumbent's  first  full  day 
in  office,)  a  letter  of  Major  Anderson,  commanding  at  Fort  Sum- 
ter,  written  on  the  28th  of  February,  and  received  at  the  War 
Department  on  the  4th  of  March,  wras  by  that  Department 
placed  in  his  hands.  This  letter  expressed  the  professional  opin 
ion  of  the  writer,  that  reinforcements  could  not  be  thrown  into 
that  fort  within  the  time  for  his  relief,  rendered  necessary  by 
the  limited  supply  of  provisions,  and  with  a  view  of  holding 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  59 

possession  of  the  same,  with  a  force  of  less  than  twenty  thousand 
good  and  well-discipline^  men.  This  opinion  was  concurred  in 
by  all  the  officers  of  his  command,  and  their  memoranda  on  the 
subject  were  made  enclosures  of  Major  Anderson's  letter.  The 
whole  was  immediately  laid  before  Lieutenant-General  Scott, 
who  at  once  concurred  with  Major  Anderson  in  opinion.  On 
reflection,  however,  he  took  full  time,  consulting  with  other 
officers,  both  of  the  army  and  the  navy ;  and  at  the  end  of  four 
days  came  reluctantly,  but  decidedly,  to  the  same  conclusion  as 
before.  He  also  stated  at  the  same  time  that  no  such  sufficient 
force  was  then  at  the  control  of  the  Government,  or  could  be 
raised  and  brought  to  the  ground  within  the  time  when  the 
provisions  in  the  fort  would  be  exhausted.  In  a  purely  mili 
tary  point  of  view,  this  reduced  the  duty  of  the  Administration  in 
the  case  to  the  mere  matter  of  getting  the  garrison  out  of  the  fort. 
It  was  believed,  however,  that  to  so  abandon  that  position,  un 
der  the  circumstances,  would  be  utterly  ruinous ;  that  the  neces 
sity  under  which  it  was  to  be  done  would  not  be  fully  understood ; 
that  by  many  it  would  be  construed  as  a  part  of  a  voluntary 
policy ;  that  at  home  it  would  discourage  the  friends  of  the 
Union,  embolden  its  adversaries,  and  go  far  to  insure  to  the  lat 
ter  a  recognition  abroad ;  that  in  fact,  it  would  be  our  national 
destruction  consummated.  This  could  not  be  allowed.  Star 
vation  was  not  yet  upon  the  garrison ;  and  ere  it  would  be 
reached  Fort  Pickens  might  be  reinforced.  This  would  be  a 
clear  indication  of  policy,  and  would  better  enable  the  country 
to  accept  the  evacuation  of  Fort  Sumter  as  a  military  necessity. 
An  order  was  at  once  directed  to  be  sent  for  the  landing  of  the 
troops  from  the  steamship  Brooklyn  into  Fort  Pickens.  This 
order  could  not  go  by  land,  but  must  take  the  longer  and  slower 
route  by  sea.  The  first  return  news  from  the  order  was  re 
ceived  just  one  week  before  the  fall  of  Fort  Sumter.  The  news 
itself  was  that  the  officer  commanding  the  Sabine,  to  which 
vessel  the  troops  had  been  transferred  from  the  Brooklyn,  act 
ing  upon  some  quasi  armistice  of  the  late  Administration  (and 
of  the  existence  of  which  the  present  Administration,  up  to  the 
time  the  order  was  despatched,  had  only  too  vague  and  uncer 
tain  rumors  to  fix  attention),  had  refused  to  land  the  troops. 


60  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

To  now  reinforce  Fort  Pickens  before  a  crisis  would  be  reached 
at  Fort  Sumter  was  impossible — rendered  so  by  the  near  exhaus 
tion  of  provisions  in  the  latter-named  fort.  In  precaution 
against  such  a  conjuncture,  the  Government  had  a  few  days  before 
commenced  preparing  an  expedition,  as  well  adapted  as  might 
be,  to  relieve  Fort  Sumter,  which  expedition  was  intended  to 
be  ultimately  used  or  not,  according  to  circumstances.  The 
strongest  anticipated  case  for  using  it  was  now  presented,  and 
it  was  resolved  to  send  it  forward.  As  had  been  intended  in 
this  contingency,  it  was  also  resolved  to  notify  the  Governor 
of  South  Carolina,  that  he  might  expect  an  attempt  would  be 
made  to  provision  the  fort ;  and  that,  if  the  attempt  should  not 
be  resisted,  there  would  be  no  effort  to  throw  in  men,  arms,  or 
ammunition,  without  further  notice,  or  incase  of  an  attack  upon 
the  fort.  This  notice  was  accordingly  given ;  whereupon  the 
fort  was  attacked  and  bombarded  to  its  fall,  without  even  await 
ing  the  arrival  of  the  provisioning  expedition. 

It  is  thus  seen  that  the  assault  upon  and  reduction  of  Fort 
Sumter  was  in  no  sense  a  matter  of  self-defence  upon  the  part 
of  the  assailants.  They  well  knew  that  the  garrison  in  the  fort 
could  by  no  possibility  commit  aggression  upon  them.  They 
knew — they  were  expressly  notified — that  the  giving  of  bread 
to  the  few  brave  and  hungry  men  of  the  garrison  was  all  which 
would  on  that  occasion  be  attempted,  unless  themselves,  by  re 
sisting  so  much,  should  provoke  more.  They  knew  ^hat  this 
Government  desired  to  keep  the  garrison  in  the  fort,  not  to  as 
sail  them,  but  to  maintain  visible  possession,  and  thus  to  pre 
serve  the  Union  from  actual  and  immediate  dissolution — trust 
ing,  as  hereinbefore  stated,  to  time,  discussion,  and  the  ballot-box 
for  final  adjustment;  and  they  assailed  and  reduced  the  fort  for 
precisely  the  reverse  object — to  drive  out  the  visible  authority 
of  the  Federal  Union,  and  thus  force  it  to  immediate  dissolution. 
That  this  was  their  object  the  Executive  well  understood ;  and 
having  said  to  them  in  the  Inaug*ral  Address,  "  You  can  have 
no  conflict  without  being  yourselves  the  aggressors,"  he  took 
pains  not  only  to  keep  this  declaration  good,  but  also  to  keep 
the  case  so  free  from  the  power  of  ingenious  sophistry  that  the 
world  should  not  be  able  to  misunderstand  it.  By  the  affair 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.        61 

at  Fort  Sumter,  with  its  surrounding  circumstances,  that  point 
was  reached.  Then  and  thereby  the  assailants  of  the  Govern 
ment  began  the  conflict  of  arms,  without  a  gun  in  sight,  or  in 
expectancy  to  return  their  fire,  save  only  the  few  in  the  fort, 
sent  to  that  harbor  years  before  for  their  own  protection,  and 
still  ready  to  give  that  protection  in  whatever  was  lawful.  In 
this  act,  discarding  all  else,  they  have  forced  upon  the  country 
the  distinct  issue,  "  immediate  dissolution  or  blood." 

And  this  issue  embraces  more  than  the  fate  of  these  United 
States.  It  presents  to  the  whole  family  of  man  the  question, 
whether  a  constitutional  republic  or  democracy — a  government 
of  the  people  by  the  same  people — can  or  cannot  maintain  its 
territorial  integrity  against  its  own  domestic  foes.  It  presents 
the  question,  whether  discontented  individuals,  too  few  in  num 
bers  to  control  administration,  according  to  organic  law,  in  any 
case,  can  always,  upon,  the  pretences  made  in  this  c*se  or  on 
any  other  pretences,  or  arbitrarily,  without  any  pretence  break 
up  their  Government,  and  thus  practically  put  an  end  to  free 
government  upon  the  earth.  It  forces  us  to  ask,  "  Is  tb^re,  in 
all  republics,  this  inherent  and  fatal  weakness  ?"  "  Must  a 
government,  of  necessity,  be  too  strong  for  the  libertie0  of  its 
own  people,  or  too  weak  to  maintain  its  own  existence  ?" 

So  viewing  the  issue,  no  choice  was  left  but  to  call  out  the 
war  power  of  the  Government ;  and  so,  to  resist  force  employed 
for  its  destruction  by  force  for  its  preservation. 

The  call  was  made,  and  the  response  of  the  country  was  most 
gratifying,  surpassing  in  unanimity  and  spirit  the  most  sanguine 
expectation.  Yet  none  of  the  States  commonly  called  Slave 
States,  except  Delaware,  gave  a  regiment  through  regular  State 
organization.  A  few  regiments  have  been  organized  within 
some  others  of  those  States  by  individual  enterprise,  and  re 
ceived  into  the  Government  service.  Of  course,  the  seceded 
States,  so  called  (and  to  which  Texas  had  been  joined  about  the 
time  of  the  inauguration),  gave  no  troops  to  the  cause  of  the 
Union.  The  Border  States,  so  called,  were  not  uniform  in  their 
action,  some  of  them  being  almost  for  the  Union,  while  in  others 
— as  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  Tennessee,  and  Arkansas — the 
Union  sentiment  was  nearly  repressed  and  silenced.  The  course 


62 


taken  in  Virgina  was  the  most  remarkable — perhaps  the  most 
important.  A  convention,  elected  by  the  people  of  that  State 
to  consider  this  very  question  of  disrupting  the  Federal  Union, 
was  in  session  at  the  capital  of  Virginia  when  Fort  Sumter  fell. 
To  this  body  the  people  had  chosen  a  large  majority  of  pro 
fessed  Union  men.  Almost  immediately  after  the  fall  of  Sumter 
many  members  of  that  majority  went  over  to  the  original  dis 
union  minority,  and  with  them  adopted  an  ordinance  for  with 
drawing  the  State  from  the  Union.  Whether  this  change  was 
wrought  by  their  great  approval  of  the  assault  upon  Sumter,  or 
their  great  resentment  at  the  Government's  resistance  to  that 
assault  is  not  definitely  known.  Although  they  submitted  the 
ordinance  for  ratification  to  a  vote  of  the  people,  to  be  taken  on 
a  day  then  somewhat  more  than  a  month  distant,  the  Conven 
tion  and  the  Legislature  (which  was  also  in  session  at  the  same 
time  and  place),  with  leading  men  of  the  State  not  members  of 
either,  immediately  commenced  acting  as  if  the  State  were  al 
ready  out  of  the  Union.  They  pushed  military  preparations 
vigorously  forward  all  over  the  State.  They  seized  the  United 
States  armory  at  Harper's  Ferry,  and  the  navy-yard  at  Gosport, 
near  Norfolk.  They  received — perhaps  invited — into  their 
State  large  bodies  of  troops,  with  their  warlike  appointments 
from  the  so-called  seceded  States.  They  formally  entered  into  a 
treaty  of  temporary  alliance  and  co-operation  with  the  so- 
called  "  Confederate  States,"  and  sent  members  to  their  Congress 
at  Montgomery ;  and,  finally,  they  permitted  the  insurrectionary 
government  to  be  transferred  to  their  capital  at  Richmond. 

The  people  of  Virginia  have  thus  allowed  this  giant  insurrec 
tion  to  make  its  nest  within  her  borders;  and  this  Government 
has  no  choice  left  but  to  deal  with  it  where  it  finds  it.  And  it 
has  the  less  regret,  as  loyal  citizens  have  in  due  form  claimed 
its  protection.  Those  loyal  citizens  this  Government  is  bound 
to  recognize  and  protect  as  being  Virginia. 

In  the  Border  States,  so-called — in  fact,  the  Middle  States — 
there  are  those  who  favor  a  policy  which  they  call  "  armed 
neutrality" — that  is,  an  arming  of  those  States  to  prevent  the 
Union  forces  passing  one  way,  or  the  disunion  the  other,  over 
their  soil.  This  would  be  disunion  completed.  Figurative- 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  63 

ly  speaking,  it  would  be  the  building  of  an  impassable  wall 
along  the  line  of  separation — and  yet  not  quite  an  impassable 
one,  for,  under  the  guise  of  neutrality,  it  would  tie  the  hands 
of  Union  men,  and  freely  pass  supplies  from  among  them  to 
the  insurrectionists,  which  it  could  not  do  as  an  open  enemy. 
At  a  stroke  it  would  take  all  the  trouble  off  the  hands  of  seces 
sion,  except  only  what  proceeds  from  the  external  blockade.  It 
would  do  for  the  disunionists  that  which  of  all  things  they 
most  desire — feed  them  well,  and  give  them  disunion  without  a 
struggle  of  their  own.  It  recognizes  no  fidelity  to  the  Consti 
tution,  no  obligation  to  maintain  the  Union ;  and  while  very 
many  who  have  favored  it  are  doubtless  loyal  citizens,  it  is, 
nevertheless,  very  injurious  in  effect. 

Recurring  to  the  action  of  the  Government,  it  may  be  stated 
that  at  first  a  call  was  made  for  seventy-five  thousand  militia ; 
and  rapidly  folio  wing  this,  a  proclamation  was  issued  for  closing 
the  ports  of  the  insurrectionary  districts  by  proceedings  in  the 
nature  of  a  blockade.  So  far  all  was  believed  to  be  strictly 
legal.  At  this  point  the  insurrectionists  announced  their  pur 
pose  to  enter  upon  the  practice  of  privateering. 

Other  calls  were  made  for  volunteers  to  serve  for  three  year? 
unless  sooner  discharged,  and  also  for  large  additions  to  the 
regular  army  and  navy.  These  measures,  whether  strictly  legal 
or  not,  were  ventured  upon  under  what  appeared  to  be  a  pop 
ular  demand  and  a  public  necessity;  trusting  then,  as  now,  that 
Congress  would  readily  ratify  them.  It  is  believed  that  noth 
ing  has  been  done  beyond  the  constitutional  competency  of 
Congress. 

Soon  after  the  first  call  for  militia,  it  was  considered  a  duty 
to  authorize  the  Commanding-General,  in  proper  cases,  accord 
ing  to  his  discretion,  to  suspend  the  privilege  of  the  writ  of 
habeas  corpus,  or,  in  other  words,  to  arrest  and  detain,  without 
resort  to  the  ordinary  processes  and  forms  of  law,  such  individ 
uals  as  he  might  deem  dangerous  to  the  public  safety.  This 
authority  has  purposely  been  exercised  but  very  sparingly. 
Nevertheless,  the  legality  and  propriety  of  what  has  been  done 
under  it  are  questioned,  and  the  attention  of  the  country  has 
been  called  to  the  proposition,  that  one  who  has  sworn  to 


64  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

"take  care  that  the  laws  be  faithfully  executed,"  should  not 
himself  violate  them.  Of  course,  some  consideration  was  given 
to  the  question  of  power  and  propriety  before  this  matter  was 
acted  upon.  The  whole  of  the  laws  which  were  required  to  be 
faithfully  executed  were  being  resisted,  and  failing  of  execution 
in  nearly  one-third  of  the  States.  Must  they  be  allowed  to 
finally  fail  of  execution,  even  had  it  been  perfectly  clear  that 
by  the  use  of  the  means  necessary  to  their  execution  some  sin 
gle  law,  made  in  such  extreme  tenderness  of  the  citizen's  liberty 
that  practically  it  relieves  more  of  the  guilty  than  of  the  inno 
cent,  should  to  a  very  limited  extent  be  violated  ?  To  state 
the  question  more  directly :  Are  all  the  laws  but  one  to  go 
unexecuted,  and  the  Government  itself  go  to  pieces,  lest  that  one 
be  violated  ?  Even  in  such  a  case,  would  not  the  official  oath 
be  broken  if  the  Government  should  be  overthrown,  when  it 
was  believed  that  disregarding  the  single  law  would  tend  to 
preserve  it  ?  But  it  was  not  believed  that  this  question  was 
presented.  It  was  not  believed  that  any  law  was  violated.  The 
provision  of  the  Constitution  that  "  the  privilege  of  the  writ 
of  habeas  corpus  shall  not  be  suspended  unless,  when,  in  cases 
of  rebellion  or  invasion,  the  public  safety  may  require  it,"  is 
equivalent  to  a  provision — is  a  provision — that  such  privilege 
may  be  suspended  when,  in  case  of  rebellion  or  invasion,  the 
public  safety  does  require  it.  It  was  decided  that  we  have  a 
case  of  rebellion,  and  that  the  public  safety  does  require  the 
qualified  suspension  of  the  privilege  of  the  writ,  which  was 
authorized  to  be  made.  Now,  it  is  insisted  that  Congress,  and 
not  the  Executive,  is  vested  with  this  power.  But  the  Con 
stitution  itself  is  silent  as  to  which  or  who  is  to  exercise  the 
power ;  and  as  the  provision  was  plainly  made  for  a  dangerous 
emergency,  it  cannot  be  believed  the  framers  of  the  instrument 
intended  that  in  every  case4he  danger  should  run  its  course 
until  Congress  could  be  called  together,  the  very  assembling  of 
which  might  be  prevented,  as  was  intended  in  this  case,  by  the 
rebellion. 

No  more  extended  argument  is  now  offered,  as  an  opinion,  at 
some  length,  will  probably  be  presented  by  the  Attorney-Gen 
eral.  Whether  there  shall  be  any  legislation  on  the  subject 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  65 

and,  if  any,  what,  is  submitted  entirely  to  the  better  judgment 
of  Congress. 

The  forbearance  of  this  Government  has  been  so  extraordi 
nary,  and  so  long  continued,  as  to  lead  some  foreign  nations  to 
shape  their  action  as  if  they  supposed  the  early  destruction  of 
our  national  Union  was  probable.  While  this,  on  discovery, 
gave  the  Executive  some  concern,  he  is  now  happy  to  say  that 
the  sovereignty  and  rights  of  the  United  States  are  now  every 
where  practically  respected  by  foreign  powers ;  and  a  general 
sympathy  with  the  country  is  manifested  throughout  the  world. 

The  reports  of  the  Secretaries  of  the  Treasury,  War,  and  the 
Navy,  will  give  the  information  in  detail  deemed  necessary  and 
convenient  for  your  deliberation  and  action  ;  while  the  Execu 
tive  and  all  the  Departments  will  stand  ready  to  supply  omis 
sions,  or  to  communicate  new  facts  considered  important  for 
you  to  know. 

It  is  now  recommended  that  you  give  the  legal  means  for 
making  this  contest  a  short  and  decisive  one ;  that  you  place 
at  the  control  of  the  Government,  for  the  work,  at  least  four 
hundred  thousand  men  and  $400,000,000.  That  number  of 
men  is  about  one-tenth  of  those  of  proper  ages  within  the  re 
gions  where,  apparently,  all  are  willing  to  engage ;  and  the  sum 
is  less  than  a  twenty-third  part  of  the  money  value  owned  by 
the  men  who  seem  ready  to  devote  the  whole.  A  debt  of 
$600,000,000  now,  is  a  less  sum  per  head  than  was  the  debt  of 
our  Revolution  when  we  came  out  of  that  struggle ;  and  the 
money  value  in  the  country  now  bears  even  a  greater  propor 
tion  to  what  it  was  then,  than  does  the  population.  Surely 
each  man  has  as  strong  a  motive  now  to  preserve  our  liberties 
as  each  had  then  to  establish  them. 

A  right  result,  at  this  time,  will  be  worth  more  to  the  world 
than  ten  times  the  men  and  ten  times  the  money.  The  evidence 
reaching  us  from  the  country  leaves  no  doubt  that  the 
material  for  the  work  is  abundant,  and  that  it  needs  only  the 
hand  of  legislation  to  give  it  legal  sanction,  and  the  hand  of 
the  Executive  to  give  it  practical  shape  and  efficiency.  One  of 
the  greatest  perplexities  of  the  Government  is  to  avoid  receiv 
ing  troops  faster  than  it  can  provide  for  them.  In  a  word, 


66  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

the  people  will  save  their  Government,  if  the  Government  itself 
will  do  its  part  only  indifferently  well. 

It  might  seem,  at  first  thought,  to  be  of  little  difference 
whether  the  present  movement  at  the  South  be  called  "  seces 
sion,"  or  "  rebellion."  The  movers,  however,  will  understand 
the  difference.  At  the  beginning,  they  knew  they  could  never 
raise  their  treason  to  any  respectable  magnitude  by  any  name 
which  implies  violation  of  law.  They  knew  their  people  pos 
sessed  as  much  of  moral  sense,  as  much  of  devotion  to  law  and 
order,  and  as  much  pride  in,  and  reverence  for  the  history  and 
Government  of  their  common  country,  as  any  other  civilized 
and  patriotic  people.  They  knew  they  could  make  no  advance 
ment  directly  in  the  teeth  of  these  strong  and  noble  sentiments. 
Accordingly,  they  commenced  by  an  insidious  debauching  of 
the  public  mind.  They  invented  an  ingenious  sophism,  which, 
if  conceded,  was  followed  by  perfectly  logical  steps,  through 
all  the  incidents,  to  the  complete  destruction  of  the  Union. 
The  sophism  itself  is,  that  any  State  of  the  Union  may,  con 
sistently  with  the  national  Constitution,  and  therefore  lawfully 
and  peacefully,  withdraw  from  the  Union  without  the  consent 
of  the  Union,  or  of  any  other  State.  The  little  disguise  that 
the  supposed  right  is  to  be  exercised  only  for  just  cause,  them 
selves  to  be  the  sole  judges  of  its  justice,  is  too  thin  to  merit 
any  notice. 

With  rebellion  thus  sugar-coated  they  have  been  drugging 
the  public  mind  of  their  section  for  more  than  thirty  years,  and 
until  at  length  they  have  brought  many  good  men  to  a  willing 
ness  to  take  up  arms  against  the  Government  the  day  after  some 
assemblage  of  men  have  enacted  the  farcical  pretence  of  taking 
their  State  out  of  the  Union,  who  could  have  been  brought  to 
no  such  thing  the  day  before. 

This  sophism  derives  much,  perhaps  the  whole,  of  its  curren 
cy  from  the  assumption  that  there  is  some  omnipotent  and  sa 
cred  supremacy  pertaining  to  a  State — to  each  State  of  our 
Federal  Union.  Our  States  have  neither  more  nor  less  power 
than  that  reserved  to  them  in  the  Union  by  the  Constitution — 
no  one  of  them  ever  having  been  a  State  out  of  the  Union. 
The  original  ones  passed  into  the  Union  even  before  they  cast 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  67 

off  their  British  colonial  dependence  ;  and  the  new  ones  each 
came  into  the  Union  directly  from  a  condition  of  dependence, 
excepting  Texas.  And  even  Texas,  in  its  temporary  indepen 
dence,  was  never  designated  a  State.  The  new  ones  only  took 
the  designation  of  States  on  coming  into  the  Union,  while  that 
name  was  first  adopted  by  the  old  ones  in  and  by  the  Declara 
tion  of  Independence.  Therein  the  "United  Colonies"  were 
declared  to  be  "free  and  independent  States;"  but,  even  then, 
the  object  plainly  wras  not  to  declare  their  independence  of  one 
another,  or  of  the  Union,  but  directly  the  contrary ;  as  their 
mutual  pledge  and  their  mutual  action  before,  at  the  time,  and 
afterwards,  abundantly  show.  The  express  plighting  of  faith 
by  each  and  all  of  the  original  thirteen  in  the  Articles  of  Con 
federation,  two  years  later,  that  the  Union  shall  be  perpetual, 
is  most  conclusive.  Having  never  been  States,  either  in  sub 
stance  or  in  name,  outside  of  the  Union,  whence  this  magical 
omnipotence  of  "  State  rights,"  asserting  a  claim  of  power  to 
lawfully  destroy  the  Union  itself?  Much  is  said  about  the 
"  sovereignty"  of  the  States ;  but  the  word  even  is  not  in  the 
national  Constitution ;  nor,  as  is  believed,  in  any  of  the  State 
constitutions.  What  is  "  sovereignty"  in  the  political  sense  of 
the  term  ?  Would  it  be  far  wrong  to  define  it  "  a  political 
community  without  a  political  superior?"  Tested  by  this, 
no  one  of  our  States,  except  Texas,  ever  was  a  sovereignty. 
And  even  Texas  gave  up  the  character  on  coming  into  the 
Union ;  by  which  act  she  acknowledged  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States  and  the  laws  and  treaties  of  the  United  States 
made  in  pursuance  of  the  Constitution,  to  be  for  her  the  supreme 
law  of  the  land.  The  States  have  their  status  in  the  Union,  and 
they  have  no  other  legal  status.  If  they  break  from  this,  they 
can  only  do  so  against  law  and  by  revolution.  The  Union,  and 
not  themselves,  separately,  procured  their  independence  and 
their  liberty.  By  conquest  or  purchase  the  Union  gave  each  of 
them  whatever  of  independence  or  liberty  it  has.  The  Union 
is  older  than  any  of  the  States,  and,  in  fact,  it  created  them  as 
States.  Originally  some  dependent  colonies  made  the  Union, 
and,  in  turn,  the  Union  threw  off  their  old  dependence  for 
them,  and  made  them  States,  such  as  they  are.  Not  one  of 


68        THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

them  ever  had  a  State  constitution  independent  of  the  Union. 
Of  course,  it  is  not  forgotten  that  all  the  new  States  framed 
their  constitutions  before  they  entered  the  Union ;  nevertheless 
dependent  upon,  and  preparatory  to,  coming  into  the  Union. 

Unquestionably  the  States  have  the  powers  and  rights  reserved 
to  them  in  and  by  the  national  Constitution  ;  but  among  these, 
surely,  are  not  included  all  conceivable  powers,  however  mis 
chievous  or  destructive  ;  but,  at  most,  such  only  as  were  known 
in  the  world,  at  the  time,  as  governmental  powers;  and,  cer 
tainly,  a  power  to  destroy  the  Government  itself  had  never 
been  known  as  a  governmental — as  a  merely  administrative 
power.  This  relative  matter  of  national  power  and  State  rights, 
as  a  principle,  is  no  other  than  the  principle  of  generality  and 
locality.  AVhatever  concerns  the  whole  should  be  confided  to 
the  whole — to  the  General  Government ;  while  whatever  con 
cerns  only  the  State  should  be  left  exclusively  to  the  State. 
This  is  all  there  is  of  original  principle  about  it.  Whether  the 
national  Constitution  in  defining  boundaries  between  the  two 
has  applied  the  principle  with  exact  accuracy,  is  not  to  be  ques 
tioned.  We  are  all  bound  by  that  defining,  without  question. 

What  is  now  combated,  is  the  position  that  secession  is  con 
sistent  with  the  Constitution — is  lawful  and  peaceful.  It  is  not 
contended  that  there  is  any  express  law  for  it;  and  nothing 
should  ever  be  implied  as  law  which  leads  to  unjust  or  absurd 
consequences.  The  nation  purchased  with  money  the  countries 
out  of  which  several  of  these  States  were  formed ;  is  it  just 
that  they  shall  go  off  without  leave  and  without  refunding  ? 
The  nation  paid  very  large  sums  (in  the  aggregate,  I  believe, 
nearly  a  hundred  millions)  to  relieve  Florida  of  the  aboriginal 
tribes ;  is  it  just  that  she  shall  now  be  off  without  consent,  or 
without  making  any  return  ?  The  nation  is  now  in  debt  for 
money  applied  to  the  benefit  of  these  so-called  seceding  States 
in  common  with  the  rest ;  is  it  just  either  that  creditors  shall 
go  unpaid,  or  the  remaining  States  pay  the  whole  ?  A  part  of 
the  present  national  debt  was  contracted  to  pay  the  old  debts 
of  Texas ;  is  it  just  that  she  shall  leave  and  pay  no  part  of  tliis 
herself? 

Again,  if  one  State  may  secede,  so  may  another ;  and  when 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.        69 

all  shall  have  seceded,  none  is  left  to  pay  the  debts.  Is  this 
quite  just  to  creditors?  Did  we  notify  them  of  this  sage  view 
of  ours  when  we  borrowed  their  money  ?  If  we  now  recognize 
this  doctrine  by  allowing  the  seceders  to  go  in  peace,  it  is  diffi 
cult  to  see  what  we  can  do  if  others  choose  to  go,  or  to  extort 
terms  upon  which  they  will  promise  to  remain. 

The  seceders  insist  that  our  constitution  admits  of  secession. 
They  have  assumed  to  make  a  national  constitution  of  their 
own,  in  which,  of  necessity,  they  have  either  discarded  or 
retained  the  right  of  secession,  as  they  insist  it  exists  in  ours. 
If  they  have  discarded  it,  they  thereby  admit  that,  on  principle, 
it  ought  not  to  exist  in  ours.  If  they  have  retained  it,  by  their 
own  construction  of  ours,  they  show  that  to  be  consistent  they 
must  secede  from  one  another  whenever  they  shall  find  it  the 
easiest  way  of  settling  their  debts,  or  effecting  any  other  selfish 
or  unjust  object.  The  principle  itself  is  one  of  disintegration, 
and  upon  which  no  government  can  possibly  endure. 

If  all  the  States  save  one  should  assert  the  power  to  drive 
that  one  out  of  the  Union,  it  is  presumed  the  whole  class  of 
seceder  politicians  would  at  once  deny  the  power,  and  denounce 
the  act  as  the  greatest  outrage  upon  State  rights.  But  suppose 
that  precisely  the  same  act,  instead  of  being  called  "  driving 
the  one  out,"  should  be  called  "  the  seceding  of  the  others  from 
that  one,"  it  would  be  exactly  what  the  seceders  claim  to  do ; 
unless,  indeed,  they  make  the  point  that  the  one,  because  it  is  a 
minority,  may  rightfully  do  what  the  others,  because  they  are  a 
majority,  may  not  rightfully  do.  These  politicians  are  subtile 
and  profound  on  the  rights  of  minorities.  They  are  not  partial 
to  that  power  which  made  the  Constitution,  and  speaks  from 
the  preamble,  calling  itself  "  We,  the  People." 

It  may  well  be  questioned  whether  there  is  to-day  a  majority 
of  the  legally  qualified  voters  of  any  State,  except,  perhaps, 
South  Carolina,  in  favor  of  disunion.  There  is  much  reason  to 
believe  that  the  Union  men  are  the  majority  in  many,  if  not  in 
every  other  one,  of  the  so-called  seceded  States.  The  contrary 
has  not  been  demonstrated  in  any  one  of  them.  It  is  ventured  to 
affirm  this  even  of  Virginia  and  Tennessee ;  for  the  result  of 
an  election  held  in  military  camps,  where  the  bayonets  are  all 


70  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

'on  one  side  of  the  question  voted  upon,  can  scarcely  be  consid 
ered  as  demonstrating  popular  sentiment.  At  such  an  election, 
all  that  large  class  who  are  at  once  for  the  Union  and  against 
coercion  would  be  coerced  to  vote  against  the  Union. 

It  may  be  affirmed  without  extravagance,  that  the  free  insti 
tutions  we  enjoy  have  developed  the  powers  and  improved  the 
condition  of  our  whole  people  beyond  any  example  in  the 
world.  Of  this  we  now  have  a  striking  and  impressive  illustra 
tion.  So  large  an  army  as  the  Government  has  now  on  foot  was 
never  before  known  without  a  soldier  in  it  but  who  had  taken 
his  place  there  of  his  own  free  choice.  But  more  than  this ; 
there  are  many  single  regiments,  whose  members,  one  and  another, 
possess  full  practical  knowledge  of  all  the  arts,  sciences,  profes 
sions,  and  whatever  else,  whether  useful  or  elegant,  is  known  in 
the  world ;  and  there  is  scarcely  one  from  which  there  could 
not  be  selected  a  President,  a  Cabinet,  a  Congress,  and  perhaps 
a  court,  abundantly  competent  to  administer  the  Government 
itself.  Nor  do  I  say  this  is  not  true  also  in  the  army  of  our  late 
friends,  now  adversaries  in  this  contest ;  but  if  it  is,  so  much 
better  the  reason  why  the  Government  which  has  conferred  such 
benefits  on  both  them  and  us,  should  not  be  broken  up.  Who 
ever,  in  any  section,  proposes  to  abandon  such  a  Government, 
would  do  well  to  consider  in  deference  to  what  principle  it  is 
that  he  does  it ;  what  better  he  is  likely  to  get  in  its  stead ; 
whether  the  substitute  will  give,  or  be  intended  to  give,  so  much 
of  good  to  the  people  ?  There  are  some  foreshadowings  on  this 
subject.  Our  adversaries  have  adopted  some  declarations  of 
independence,  in  which,  unlike  the  good  old  one,  penned  by 
Jefferson,  they  omit  the  words,  "  all  men  are  created  equal." 
Why  ?  They  have  adopted  a  temporary  national  constitution, 
in  the  preamble  of  which,  unlike  our  good  old  one,  signed  by 
Washington,  they  omit  "  We,  the  people,"  and  substitute  "  We, 
the  deputies  of  the  sovereign  and  independent  States."  Why  ? 
Why  this  deliberate  pressing  out  of  view  the  rights  of  men  and 
the  authority  of  the  people  ? 

This  is  essentially  a  people's  contest.  On  the  side  of  the 
Union  it  is  a  struggle  for  maintaining  in  the  world  that  form 
and  substance  of  government  whose  leading  object  is  to  elevate 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.        71 

the  condition  of  men ;  to  lift  artificial  weights  from  all  shoul 
ders  ;  to  clear  the  paths  of  laudable  pursuits  for  all ;  to  afford 
all  an  unfettered  start  and  a  fair  chance  in  the  race  of  life. 
Yielding  to  partial  and  temporary  departures,  from  necessity, 
this  is  the  leading  object  of  the  Government  for  whose  existence 
we  contend. 

I  am  most  happy  to  believe  that  the  plain  people  understand 
and  appreciate  this.  It  is  worthy  of  note,  that  while  in  this 
the  Government's  hour  of  trial,  large  numbers  of  those  in  the 
army  and  navy  who  have  been  favored  with  the  offices  have 
resigned  and  proved  false  to  the  hand  which  had  pampered 
them,  not  one  common  soldier  or  common  sailor  is  known  to 
have  deserted  his  flag. 

Great  honor  is  due  to  those  officers  who  remained  true,  despite 
the  example  of  their  treacherous  associates ;  but  the  greatest 
honor,  and  most  important  fact  of  all,  is  the  unanimous  firmness 
of  the  common  soldiers  and  common  sailors.  To  the  last  man, 
so  far  as  known,  they  have  successfully  resisted  the  traitorous 
efforts  of  those  whose  commands  but  an  hour  before  they  obeyed, 
as  absolute  law.  This  is  the  patriotic  instinct  of  plain  people. 
They  understand,  without  an  argument,  that  the  destroying  the 
Government  which  was  made  .by  Washington  means  no  good 
to  them. 

Our  popular  Government  has  often  been  called  an  experiment. 
Two  points  in  it  our  people  have  already  settled — the  success 
ful  establishing  and  the  successful  administering  of  it.  One 
still  remains — its  successful  maintenance  against  a  formidable 
internal  attempt  to  overthrow  it.  It  is  now  for  them  to  demon 
strate  to  the  world  that  those  who  can  fairly  carry  an  election 
can  also  suppress  a  rebellion ;  that  ballots  are  the  rightful  and 
peaceful  successors  of  bullets ;  and  that  when  ballots  have  fairly 
and  constitutionally  decided,  there  can  be  no  successful  appeal 
back  to  bullets ;  that  there  can  be  no  successful  appeal,  except 
to  ballots  themselves,  at  succeeding  elections.  Such  will  be  a 
great  lesson  of  peace;  teaching  men  that  what  they  can  not 
take  by  an  election,  neither  can  they  take  by  a  war ;  teaching 
all  the  folly  of  being  the  beginners  of  a  war. 

Lest  there  be  some  uneasiness  in  the  minds  of  candid  men  as 


72  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

to  what  is  to  be  the  course  of  the  Government  toward  the 
Southern  States  after  the  rebellion  shall  have  been  suppressed, 
the  Executive  deems  it  proper  to  say,  it  will  be  his  purpose 
then,  as  ever,  to  be  guided  by  the  Constitution  and  the  laws ; 
and  that  he  probably  will  have  no  different  understanding  of 
the  powers  and  duties  of  the  Federal  Government  relatively  to 
the  rights  of  the  States  and  the  people  under  the  Constitution 
than  that  expressed  in  the  inaugural  address. 

He  desired  to  preserve  the  Government,  that  it  may  be  ad 
ministered  for  all,  as  it  was  administered  by  the  men  wTho  made 
it.  Loyal  citizens  everywhere  have  the  right  to  claim  this  of 
their  Government,  and  the  Government  has  no  right  to  withhold 
or  neglect  it.  It  is  not  perceived  that  in  giving  it  there  is  any 
coercion,  any  conquest,  or  any  subjugation,  in  any  just  sense  of 
those  terms. 

The  Constitution  provides,  and  all  the  States  have  accepted 
the  provision,  that  "  the  United  States  shall  guarantee  to  every 
State  in  this  Union  a  republican  form  of  Government."  But  if 
a  State  may  lawfully  go  out  of  the  Union,  having  done  so  it 
may  also  discard  the  republican  form  of  Government ;  so  that 
to  prevent  its  going  out  is  an  indispensable  means  to  the  end  of 
maintaining  the  guarantee  mentioned  ;  and  when  an  end  is  lawful 
and  obligatory,  the  indispensable  means  to  it  are  also  lawful 
and  obligatory. 

It  was  with  the  deepest  regret  that  the  Executive  found  the 
duty  of  employing  the  war  power  in  defence  of  the  Government 
forced  upon  him.  He  could  but  perform  this  duty  or  surrender 
the  existence  of  the  Government.  No  compromise  by  public 
servants  could  in  this  case  be  a  cure ;  not  that  compromises  are 
not  often  proper,  but  that  no  popular  Government  can  long  sur 
vive  a  marked  precedent  that  those  who  carry  an  election  can 
only  save  the  Government  from  immediate  destruction  by  giving 
up  the  main  point  upon  which  the  people  gave  the  election. 
The  people  themselves,  and  not  their  servants,  can  safely  reverse 
their  own  deliberate  decisions. 

As  a  private  citizen  the  Executive  could  not  have  consented 
that  these  institutions  shall  perish ;  much  less  could  he,  in  be 
trayal  of  so  vast  and  so  sacred  a  trust  as  these  free  people 


T3 


have  confided  to  him.  He  felt  that  he  had  no  moral  right  to 
shrink,  or  even  to  count  the  chances  of  his  own  life,  in  what 
might  follow.  In  full  view  of  his  great  responsibility  he  has 
so  far  done  what  he  has  deemed  his  duty.  You  will  now,  ac 
cording  to  your  own  judgment,  perform  yours.  He  sincerely 
hopes  that  your  views  and  your  action  may  so  accord  with  his 
as  to  assure  all  faithful  citizens  who  have  been  disturbed  in 
their  rights  of  a  certain  and  speedy  restoration  to  them,  under 
the  Constitution  and  the  laws. 

And  having  thus  chosen  our  course,  without  guile  and  with 
pure  purpose,  let  us  renew  our  trust  in  God,  and  go  forward 
without  fear  and  with  manly  hearts. 

July  4,  1861.  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

BORDER    STATE    POLICY. 

As  one  of  the  first  and  most  important  tasks  of  the 
Government  was  to  prevent  the  Border  States  from  being 
placed  in  the  power  of  the  secessionists,  so  one  of  Mr. 
Lincoln's  severest  trials  in  the  first  year  of  his  Adminis 
tration  was  so  to  meet  and  check  the  moves  of  the  lead 
ing  men  in  those  States,  who  were  at  heart  with  Jefferson 
Davis,  that  he  would  not  irritate  the  sullen,  or  excite  the 
lukewarm  to  open  opposition.  The  following  letter  which 
explains  itself  fully,  is  a  good  example  of  the  quiet  man 
ner  in  which  he  showed  these  men  that  he  understood, 
and  would  withstand  them. 

REPLY  TO  GOVERNOR  MAGOFFIN,  OF  KENTUCKY. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  August  24,  1861. 

To  His  Excellency  B.  MAGOFFIN,  Governor  of  the  State  of  Ken 
tucky — Sir: — Your  letter  of  the  19th  inst.,  in  which  you  "urge 
the  removal  from  the  limits  of  Kentucky  of  the  military  force 
now  organized  and  in  camp  within  that  State,"  is  received. 

I  may  not  possess  full  and  precisely  accurate  knowledge  upon 
this  subject,  but  I  believe  it  is  true  that  there  is  a  military  force  in 
camp  within  Kentucky,  acting  by  authority  of  the  United  States, 


74: 


which  force  is  not  very  large,  and  is  not  now  being  augmented. 
I  also  believe  that  some  arms  have  been  furnished  to  this  force 
by  the  United  States. 

I  also  believe  that  this  force  consists  exclusively  of  Kentuck- 
ians,  having  their  camp  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  their  own 
homes,  and  not  assailing  or  menacing  any  of  the  good  people 
of  Kentucky. 

In  all  I  have  done  in  the  premises,  I  have  acted  upon  the 
urgent  solicitation  of  many  Kentuckians,  and  in  accordance 
with  what  I  believed,  and  still  believe,  to  be  the  wish  of  a  ma 
jority  of  all  the  Union  loving  people  of  Kentucky. 

While  I  have  conversed  on  the  subject  with- many  eminent 
men  of  Kentucky,  including  a  large  majority  of  her  members 
of  Congress,  I  do  not  remember  that  any  one  of  them,  or  any 
other  person,  except  your  Excellency  and  the  bearers  of  your 
Excellency's  letter,  has  urged  me  to  remove  the  military  force 
from  Kentucky  or  to  disband  it.  One  other  very  worthy  citizen 
of  Kentucky  did  solicit  me  to  have  the  augmenting  of  the  force 
suspended  for  a  time. 

Taking  all  the  means  within  my  reach  to  form  a  judgment, 
I  do  not  believe  it  i&  the  popular  wish  of  Kentucky  that  the 
force  shall  be  removed  beyond  her  limits ;  and,  with  this  im 
pression,  I  must  respectfully  decline  to  remove  it. 

I  most  cordially  sympathize  with  your  Excellency  in  the  wish 
to  preserve  the  peace  of  my  own  native  State,  Kentucky,  but  it 
is  with  regret  I  search  for  and  cannot  find,  in  your  not  very 
short  letter,  any  declaration  or  intimation  that  you  entertain 
any  desire  for  the  preservation  of  the  Federal  Union. 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

i 
GENERAL   FREMONT'S   EMANCIPATION    ORDER. 

But  Mr.  Lincoln's  perplexities  were  not  all  caused  by 
the  malignity  of  the  slavery  propagandists.  Not  a  few 
were  created  for  him  by  the  unwise  impetuosity  of  those 
who  seemed  to  think  that  there  was  only  one  question  to 
be  considered  in  the  war,  or  rather  that  the  war  was  to 
be  successfully  prosecuted  by  attacking  slavery  without 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  75 

regard  to  law,  or  even  to  circumstances.  Prominent 
among  these  was  General  Fremont,  who  assumed  the  re 
sponsibility  of  declaring  the  slaves  of  all  active  partici 
pants  in  the  rebellion,  free.  This  act  Mr.  Lincoln  thought 
both  ill-timed  and  an  unwarrantable  arrogation  of  power ; 
and  he  annulled  it  in  the  following  letter. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  September  11,  1861. 

Major-General  John  G.  Fremont — Sir — Yours  of  the  8th,  in 
answer  to  mine  of  the  2nd  inst.,  is  just  received.  Assured 
that  you  upon  the  ground  could  better  judge  of  the  necessities 
of  your  position  than  I  could  at  this  distance,  on  seeing  your 
proclamation  of  August  30,  I  perceived  no  general  objection  to 
it ;  the  particular  clause,  however,  in  relation  to  the  confiscation 
of  property  and  the  liberation  of  slaves  appeared  to  me  to  be 
objectionable  in  its  non-conformity  to  the  act  of  Congress,  passed 
the  6th  of  last  August,  upon  the  same  subjects,  and  hence  I 
wrote  you  expressing  my  wish  that  that  clause  should  be  modi 
fied  accordingly.  Your  answer  just  received  expresses  the  pref 
erence  on  your  part  that  I  should  make  an  open  order  for  the 
modification,  which  I  very  cheerfully  do.  It  is  therefore  or 
dered  that  the  said  clause  of  said  proclamation  be  so  modified, 
held  and  construed  as  to  confirm  with,  and  not  to  transcend,  the 
provisions  on  the  same  subject  contained  in  the  act  of  Con 
gress  entitled  "  An  Act  to  confiscate  property  used  for  insurrec 
tionary  purposes,"  approved  August  6,  1861,  and  the  said  act 
be  published  at  length  wTith  this  order.  Your  obedient  servant. 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Gen.  Fremont  was  relieved  in  November,  of  his  com 
mand  in  the  Department  of  the  West,  which  devolved 
upon  General  David  Hunter.  Mr.  Lincoln  always  mod 
estly  disclaimed  any  military  ability ;  but  the  following 
letter,  addressed  to  that  General  on  the  occasion  of  his 
taking  command,  was  justified  in  all  its  military  views 
by  the  subsequent  course  of  events  in  that  Department 
throughout  the  war : 


76  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

LETTER  TO  GENERAL  HUNTER. 

WASHINGTON,  October  24,  1861. 

Sir— The  command  of  the  Department  of  the  West  having 
devolved  upon  you,  I  propose  to  offer  you  a  few  suggestions, 
knowing  how  hazardous  it  is  to  bind  down  a  distant  commander 
in  the  field  to  specific  lines  of  operation,  as  so  much  always 
depends  on  the  knowledge  of  localities  and  passing  events.  It 
is  intended,  therefore,  to  leave  considerable  margin  for  the  exer 
cise  of  your  judgment  and  discretion. 

The  main  rebel  army  (Price's)  west  of  the  Mississippi  is  be 
lieved  to  have  passed  Dade  County  in  full  retreat  upon  North 
western  Arkansas,  leaving  Missouri  almost  free  from  the  enemy, 
excepting  in  the  southeast  part  of  the  State.  Assuming  this 
basis  of  fact,  it  seems  desirable — as  you  are  not  likely  to  over 
take  Price,  and  are  in  danger  of  making  too  long  a  line  from 
your  own  base  of  supplies  and  reinforcements — that  you  should 
give  up  the  pursuit,  halt  your  main  army,  divide  it  into  two 
corps  of  observation,  one  occupying  Sedalia  and  the  other  Holla, 
the  present  termini  of  railroads,  then  recruit  the  condition  of 
both  corps  by  re-establishing  and  improving  their  discipline 
and  instruction,  perfecting  their  clothing  and  equipments,  and 
providing  less  uncomfortable  quarters.  Of  course,  both  rail 
roads  must  be  guarded  and  kept  open,  judiciously  employing 
just  so  much  force  as  is  necessary  for  this.  From  these  two 
two  points,  Sedalia  and  Holla,  and  especially  in  judicious  co 
operation  with  Lane  on  the  Kansas  border,  it  would  be  very 
easy  to  concentrate,  and  repel  any  army  of  the  enemy  returning 
on  Missouri  on  the  Southwest.  As  it  is  not  probable  any  such 
attempt  to  return  will  be  made  before  or  during  the  approach 
ing  cold  weather,  before  spring  the  people  of  Missouri  will  be 
in  no  favorable  mood  for  renewing  for  next  year  the  troubles 
which  have  so  much  afflicted  and  impoverished  them  during  this. 

If  you  take  this  line  of  policy,  and  if,  as  I  anticipate,  you  will 
see  no  enemy  in  great  force  approaching,  you  will  have  a  surplus 
force  which  you  can  withdraw  from  those  points,  and  direct  to 
others,  as  may  be  needed — the  railroads  furnishing  ready  means 
of  reinforcing  those  main  points,  if  occasion  requires. 

Doubtless  local  uprisings  for  a  time  will  continue  to  occur, 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  77 

but  those  can  be  met  by  detachments  of  local  forces  of  our  own, 
and  will  ere  long  tire  out  of  themselves. 

While,  as  stated  at  the  beginning  of  this  letter,  a  large  dis 
cretion  must  be  and  is  left  with  yourself,  I  feel  sure  that  an  in 
definite  pursuit  of  Price,  or  an  attempt  by  this  long  and  circui 
tous  route  to  reach  Memphis,  will  be  exhaustive  beyond  endur 
ance,  and  will  end  in  the  loss  of  the  whole  force  engaged  in  it. 

Your  obedient  servant, 

The  Commander  of  the  Department  of  the  West.  ^"   LINCOLN. 

THE    CONGRESSIONAL   SESSION   OF    1861-2. 

Congress  met  for  the  second  time  after  Mr.  Lincoln's 
inauguration,  on  the  2d  of  December,  1861.  The — 
so  nearly  a  victory,  closing  in  so  shameful  a  panic — 
first  battle  of  Manassas  Plains,  or  Bull  Run.  which 
took  place  during  the  extra  session  of  July,  caused 
great  exultation  at  the  South,  and  was  followed,  as  the 
reader  will  remember,  by  an  adhesion  of  all  the  time- 
servers  and  waiters  upon  Providence  south  of  Mason  and 
Dixon's  line  to  the  cause  of  the  insurgents,  by  the  con 
solidation  of  the  so-called  Confederate  Government,  and 
the  casting  of  the  whole  weight  of  the  influence  of  the 
governing  classes  in  Europe  against  the  government  of 
our  Republic.  It  was  followed  also  by  greater  prepara 
tions  on  the  part  of  our  Government,  and  excited,  after 
the  first  day  or  two  of  depression,  only  a  more  fixed  de 
termination  on  the  part  of  loyal  people.  Under  these 
circumstances,  Mr.  Lincoln  sent  in  his  second  Message. 

MESSAGE. 

Fellow- Citizens  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives — In 
the  midst  of  unprecedented  political  troubles,  we  have  cause 
of  great  gratitude  to  God  for  unusual  good  health,  and  most 
abundant  harvests. 


78  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

You  will  not  be  surprised  to  learn  that,  in  the  peculiar  exi 
gencies  of  the  times,  our  intercourse  with  foreign  nations  has 
been  attended  with  profound  solicitude,  chiefly  turning  upon 
our  own  domestic  affairs.  A  disloyal  portion  of  the  American 
people  have,  during  the  w^hole  year,  been  engaged  in  an  attempt 
to  divide  and  destroy  the  Union.  A  nation  which  endures  fac 
tious  domestic  division,  is  exposed  to  disrespect  abroad ;  and 
one  party,  if  not  both,  is  sure,  sooner  or  later,  to  invoke  foreign 
intervention.  Nations  thus  tempted  to  interfere  are  not  always 
able  to  resist  the  counsels  of  seeming  expediency  and  ungenerous 
ambition,  although  measures  adopted  under  such  influences  sel 
dom  fail  to  be  unfortunate  and  injurious  to  those  adopting  them. 

The  disloyal  citizens  of  the  United  States  who  have  offered 
the  ruin  of  our  country,  in  return  for  the  aid  and  comfort  which 
they  have  invoked  abroad,  have  received  less  patronage  and 
encouragement  than  they  probably  expected.  If  it  were  just  to 
suppose,  as  the  insurgents  have  seemed  to  assume,  that  foreign 
nations,  in  this  case,  discarding  all  moral,  social,  and  treaty  ob 
ligations,  would  act  solely  and  selfishly  for  the  most  speedy 
restoration  of  commerce,  including  especially  the  acquisition  of 
cotton,  those  nations  appear,  as  yet,  not  to  have  seen  their  way 
to  their  object  more  directly,  or  clearly,  through  the  destruc 
tion,  than  through  the  preservation,  of  the  Union.  If  we  could 
dare  to  believe  that  foreign  nations  are  actuated  by  no  higher 
principle  than  this,  I  am  quite  sure  a  sound  argument  could  be 
made  to  show  them  that  they  can  reach  their  aim  more  readily 
and  easily  by  aiding  to  crush  this  rebellion,  than  by  giving  en 
couragement  to  it. 

The  principal  lever  relied  on  by  the  insurgents  for  exciting 
foreign  nations  to  hostility  against  us,  as  already  intimated,  is 
the  embarrassment  of  commerce.  Those  nations,  however,  not 
improbably,  saw  from  the  first  that  it  was  the  Union  which  made, 
as  well  our  foreign  as  our  domestic  commerce.  They  can 
scarcely  have  failed  to  perceive  that  the  effort  for  disunion  pro 
duced  the  existing  difficulty  ;  and  that  one  strong  nation  prom 
ises  more  durable  peace,  and  a  more  extensive,  valuable,  and 
reliable  commerce,  than  can  the  same  nation  broken  into  hostile 
fragments. 


79 


It  18  not  my  purpose  to  review  our  discussions  with  foreign 
States;  because  whatever  might  be  their  wishes  or  dispositions, 
the  integrity  of  our  country  and  the  stability  of  our  Govern 
ment  mainly  depend,  not  upon  them,  but  on  the  loyalty,  virtue, 
patriotism,  and  intelligence  of  the  American  people.  The  cor 
respondence  itself,  with  the  usual  reservations,  is  herewith  sub 
mitted. 

I  venture  to  hope  it  will  appear  that  we  have  practiced  pru 
dence  and  liberality  towards  foreign  powers,  averting  causes  of 
irritation ;  and  with  firmness  maintaining  our  own  rights  and 
honor. 

Since,  however,  it  is  apparent  that  here,  as  in  every  other 
State,  foreign  dangers  necessarily  attend  domestic  difficulties,  I 
recommend  that  adequate  and  ample  measures  be  adopted  for 
maintaining  the  public  defences  on  every  side.  While,  under 
this  general  recommendation,  provision  for  defending  our  sea- 
coast  line  readily  occurs  to  the  mind,  I  also,  in  the  same  con 
nection,  ask  the  attention  of  Congress  to  our  great  lakes  and 
rivers.  It  is  believed  that  some  fortifications  and  depots  of 
arms  and  munitions,  with  harbor  and  navigation  improvements, 
all  at  well-selected  points  upon  these,  would  be  of  great  im 
portance  to  the  national  defence  and  preservation.  I  ask  atten 
tion  to  the  views  of  the  Secretary  of  War,  expressed  in  his 
report  upon  the  same  general  subject. 

I  deem  it  of  importance  that  the  loyal  regions  of  East  Ten 
nessee  and  Western  North  Carolina  should  be  connected  with 
Kentucky  and  other  faithful  parts  of  the  Union  by  railroad.  I, 
therefore,  recommend,  as  a  military  measure,  that  Congress  pro 
vide  for  the  construction  of  such  road  as  speedily  as  possible. 

Kentucky  will  no  doubt  co-operate,  and,  through  her  Legis 
lature,  make  the  most  judicious  selection  of  a  line.  The  north 
ern  terminus  must  connect  with  some  existing  railroad,  and 
whether  the  route  shall  be  from  Lexington  or  Nicholasville  to 
the  Cumberland  Gap,  or  from  Lebanon  to  the  Tennessee  line,  in 
the  direction  of  Knoxville,  or  on  some  still  different  line,  can 
easily  be  determined.  Kentucky  and  the  General  Government 
co-operating,  the  work  can  be  completed  in  a  very  short  time, 
and  when  done  it  will  be  not  only  of  vast  present  usefulness, 


80        THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

but  also  a  valuable  permanent  improvement  worth  its  cost  in  all 
the  future. 

Some  treaties,  designed  chiefly  for  the  interests  of  commerce, 
and  having  no  grave  political  importance,  have  been  negotiated, 
and  will  be  submitted  to  the  Senate  for  their  consideration. 
Although  we  have  failed  to  induce  some  of  the  commercial 
Powers  to  adopt  a  desirable  melioration  of  the  rigor  of  mari 
time  war,  we  have  removed  all  obstructions  from  the  way  of 
this  humane  reform,  except  such  as  are  merely  of  temporary 
and  accidental  occurrence. 

I  invite  your  attention  to  the  correspondence  between  her 
Britannic  Majesty's  Minister,  accredited  to  this  Government,  and 
the  Secretary  of  State,  relative  to  the  detention  of  the  British 
ship  Perthshire  in  June  last  by  the  United  States  Steamer  Mas 
sachusetts,  for  a  supposed  breach  of  the  blockade.  As  this  de 
tention  was  occasioned  by  an  obvious  misapprehension  of  the 
facts,  and  as  justice  requires  that  we  should  commit  no  bellig 
erent  act  not  founded  in  strict  right  as  sanctioned  by  public 
law,  I  recommend  that  an  appropriation  be  made  to  satisfy  the 
reasonable  demand  of  the  owners  of  the  vessel  for  her  detention. 

******** 

If  any  good  reason  exists  why  we  should  persevere  longer  in 
withholding  our  recognition  of  the  independence  and  sovereign 
ty  of  Hayti  and  Liberia,  I  am  unable  to  discern  it.  Unwilling, 
however,  to  inaugurate  a  novel  policy  in  regard  to  them  with 
out  the  approbation  of  Congress,  I  submit  for  your  considera 
tion  the  expediency  of  an  appropriation  for  maintaining  a 
Charge  d"  Affaires  near  each  of  those  new  States.  It  does  not 
admit  of  doubt  that  important  commercial  advantages  might 
be  secured  by  favorable  treaties  with  them. 

The  operations  of  the  Treasury  during  the  period  which  has 
elapsed  since  your  adjournment  has  been-  conducted  with  signal 
success.  The  patriotism  of  the  people  has  placed  at  the*  dis 
posal  of  the  Government  the  large  means  demanded  by  the  pub 
lic  exigencies.  Much  of  the  national  loan  has  been  taken  by 
citizens  of  the  industrial  classes,  whose  confidence  in  their 
country's  faith,  and  zeal  for  their  country's  deliverance  from  its 
present  peril,  have  induced  them  to  contribute  to  the  support 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  81 

of  the  Government  the  whole  of  their  limited  acquisitions.  This 
fact  imposes  peculiar  obligations  to  economy  and  disbursement 
aud  energy  in  action.  The  revenue  from  all  sources,  including 
loans  for  the  financial  year  ending  on  the  30th  of  June,  1861, 
was  $86,835,900  27  ;  and  the  expenditures  for  the  same  period, 
including  payments  on  account  of  the  public  debt,  were  $84,- 
578,034  47,  leaving  a  balance  in  the  treasury,  on  the  1st  of  July, 
of  $2,257,065  80  for  the  first  quarter  of  the  financial  year  end 
ing  on  September  30,  1861.  The  receipts  from  all  sources,  in 
cluding  the  balance  of  July  1,  were  $102,532,509  27,  and  the 
expenses  $98,239,733  09,  leaving  a  balance,  on  the  1st  of  Octo 
ber,  1861,  of  $4,292,776  18. 

Estimates  for  the  remaining  three-quarters  of  the  year  and 
for  the  financial  year  of  1863,  together  with  his  views  of  the 
ways  and  means  for  meeting  the  demands  contemplated  by 
them,  will  be  submitted  to  Congress  by  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury.  It  is  gratifying  to  know  that  the  expenses  made  nec 
essary  by  the  rebellion  are  not  bej^ond  the  resources  of  the  loyal 
people,  and  to  believe  that  the  same  patriotism  which  has  thus 
far  sustained  the  Government  will  continue  to  sustain  it.  till 
peace  and  union  shall  again  bless  the  land.  I  respectfully  refer 
to  the  report  of  the  Secretary  of  War  for  information  respect 
ing  the  numerical  strength  of  the  army,  and  for  recommenda 
tions  having  in  view  an  increase  of  its  efficiency,  and  the  well- 
being  of  the  various  branches  of  the  service  intrusted  to  his 
care.  It  is  gratifying  to  know  that  the  patriotism  of  the  peo 
ple  has  proved  equal  to  the  occasion,  and  that  the  number  of 
troops  tendered  greatly  exceed  the  force  which  Congress  au 
thorized  me  to  call  into  the  field.  I  refer  with  pleasure  to  those 
portions  of  his  report  which  make  allusion  to  the  creditable  de 
gree  of  discipline  already  attained  by  our  troops,  and  to  the 
excellent  sanitary  condition  of  the  entire  army.  The  recom 
mendation  of  the  Secretary  for  an  organization  of  the  militia 
upon  a  uniform  basis  is  a  subject  of  vital  importance  to  the  fu 
ture  safety  of  the  country,  and  is  commended  to  the  serious  at 
tention  of  Congress.  The  large  addition  to  the  regular  army, 
in  connection  with  the  defection  that  has  so  considerably  dim 
inished  the  number  of  its  officers,  gives  peculiar  importance  to 


82 


his  recommendation  for  increasing  the  corps  of  cadets  to  the 
greatest  capacity  of  the  Military  Academy. 

By  mere  omission,  I  presume,  Congress  has  failed  to  provide 
chaplains  for  the  hospitals  occupied  by  the  volunteers.  This 
subject  was  brought  to  my  notice,  and  I  was  induced  to  draw 
up  the  form  of  a  letter,  one  copy  of  which,  properly  addressed, 
has  been  delivered  to  each  of  the  persons,  and  at  the  dates  re 
spectively  named  and  stated  in  a  schedule,  containing,  also,  the 
form  of  the  letter  marked  A,  and  herewith  transmitted.  These 
gentlemen,  I  understand,  entered  upon  the  duties  designated 
at  the  times  respectfully  stated  in  the  schedule,  and  have  labored 
faithfully  therein  ever  since.  I  therefore  recommend  that  they 
be  compensated  at  the  same  rate  as  chaplains  in  the  army.  I 
further  suggest  that  general  provision  be  made  for  chaplains  to 
serve  at  hospitals,  as  well  as  with  regiments. 

The  report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  presents,  in  detail, 
the  operations  of  that  branch  of  the  service,  the  activity  and 
energy  which  have  characterized  its  administration,  and  the  re 
sults  of  measures  to  increase  its  efficiency  and  power.  Such 
have  been  the  additions,  by  construction  and  purchase,  that  it 
may  almost  be  said  a  navy  has  been  created  and  brought  into 
service  since  our  difficulties  commenced. 

Besides  blockading  our  extensive  coast,  squadrons  larger 
than  ever  before  assembled  under  our  flag  have  been  put  afloat, 
and  performed  deeds  which  have  increased  our  naval  renown. 

I  would  invite  special  attention  to  the  recommendation  of  the 
Secretary  for  a  more  perfect  organization  of  the  navy,  by  intro 
ducing  additional  grades  in  the  service. 

The  present  organization  is  defective  and  unsatisfactory,  and 
the  suggestions  submitted  by  the  department  will,  it  is  believed, 
if  adopted,  obviate  the  difficulties  alluded  to,  promote  harmony, 
and  increase  the  efficiency  of  the  navy. 

There  are  three  vacancies  on  the  bench  of  the  Supreme  Court 
— two  by  the  decease  of  Justices  Daniel  and  McLean,  and  one 
by  the  resignation  of  Justice  Campbell.  I  have  so  far  forborne 
making  nominations  to  fill  these  vacancies  for  reasons  which  I 
will  now  state.  Two  of  the  out-going  judges  resided  within 
the  States  now  overrun  by  revolt ;  so  that  if  successors  were 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  83 

appointed  in  the  same  localities,  they  could  not  now  serve  upon 
their  circuits;  and  many  of  the  most  competent  men  there 
probably  would  not  take  the  personal  hazard  of  accepting  to 
serve,  even  here,  upon  the  supreme  bench.  I  have  been  unwill 
ing  to  throw  all  the  appointments  northward,  thus  disabling 
myself  from  doing  justice  to  the  South  on  the  return  of  peace ; 
although  I  may  remark  that  to  transfer  to  the  North  one  which 
has  heretofore  been  in  the  South,  would  not,*with  reference  to 
territory  and  population,  be  unjust. 

During  the  long  and  brilliant  judicial  career  of  Judge 
McLean,  his  circuit  grew  into  an  empire — altogether  too  large 
for  any  one  judge  to  give  the  courts  therein  more  than  a  nom 
inal  attendance — rising  in  population  from  one  million  four 
hundred  and  seventy  thousand  and  eighteen,  in  1830,  to  six 
million  one  hundred  and  fifty-one  thousand  four  hundred  and 
five,  in  1860. 

Besides  this,  the  country  generally  has  outgrown  our  present 
judicial  system.  If  uniformity  was  at  all  intended,  the 
system  requires  that  all  the  States  shall  be  accommodated  with 
Circuit  Courts,  attended  by  supreme  judges,  while,  in  fact,  Wis 
consin,  Minnesota,  Iowa,  Kansas,  Florida,  Texas,  California  and 
Oregon,  have  never  had  any  such  courts.  Nor  can  this  well  be 
remedied  without  a  change  of  the  system ;  because  the  adding 
of  judges  to  the  Supreme  Court,  enough  for  the  accommodation 
of  all  parts  of  the  country  with  Circuit  Courts,  would  create  a 
court  altogether  too  numerous  for  a  judicial  body  of  any  sort. 
And  the  evil,  if  it  be  one,  will  increase  as  new  States  come  into  the 
Union.  Circuit  Courts  are  useful,  or  they  are  not  useful.  If  use 
ful,  no  State  should  be  denied  them,  if  not  useful  no  State  should 
have  them.  Let  them  be  provided  for  all,  or  abolished  as  to  all. 

Three  modifications  occur  to  me,  either  of  which,  I  think, 
would  be  an  improvement  upon  our  present  system.  Let  the 
Supreme  Court  be  of  convenient  number  in  every  event.  Then, 
first,  let  the  whole  country  be  divided  into  circuits  of  conven 
ient  size,  the  supreme  judges  to  serve  in  a  number  of  them  cor 
responding  to  their  own  number,  and  independent  circuit  judges 
provided  for  all  the  rest.  Or,  secondly,  let  the  supreme  judges 
be  relieved  from  circuit  duties,  and  circuit  judges  provided  for 


84  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

all  the  circuits.  Or,  thirdly,  dispense  with  circuit  courts  alto 
gether,  leaving  the  judicial  functions  wholly  to  the  district 
courts  and  an  independent  Supreme  Court. 

I  respectfully  recommend  to  the  consideration  of  Congress 
the  present  condition  of  the  statute  laws,  with  the  hope  that 
Congress  will  be  able  to  find  an  easy  remedy  for  many  of  the 
inconveniences  and  evils  which  constantly  embarrass  those  en 
gaged  in  the  practical  administration  of  them.  Since  the  or 
ganization  of  the  Government,  Congress  has  enacted  some  five 
thousand  acts  and  joint  resolutions,  which  fill  more  than  six 
thousand  closely-printed  pages,  and  are  scattered  through  many 
volumes.  Many  of  these  acts  have  been  drawn  in  haste  and 
without  sufficient  caution,  so  that  their  provisions  are  often  ob 
scure  in  themselves,  or  in  conflict  \vith  each  other,  or  at  least  so 
doubtful  as  to  render  it  very  difficult  for  even  the  best-informed 
persons  to  ascertain  precisely  what  the  statute  law  really  is. 

It  seems  to  me  veiy  important  that  the  statute  laws  should  be 
made  as  plain  and  intelligible  as  possible,  and  be  reduced  to  as 
small  a  compass  as  may  consist  with  the  fulness  and  precision 
of  the  will  of  the  legislature  and  the  perspicuity  of  its  lan 
guage.  This,  well  done,  would,  I  think,  greatly  facilitate  the 
labors  of  those  whose  duty  it  is  to  assist  in  the  administration 
of  the  laws,  and  would  be  a  lasting  benefit  to  the  people,  by 
placing  before  them,  in  a  more  accessible  and  intelligible  form, 
the  laws  which  so  deeply  concern  their  interests  and  their 
duties. 

I  am  informed  by  some  whose  opinions  I  respect,  that  all  the 
acts  of  Congress  now  in  force,  and  of  a  permanent  and  general 
nature,  might  be  revised  and  re-written,  so  as  to  be  embraced 
in  one  volume  (or,  at  most,  two  volumes)  of  ordinary  and  con 
venient  size.  And  I  respectfully  recommend  to  Congress  to 
consider  of  the  subject,  and  if  my  suggestion  be  approved,  to 
devise  such  plan  as  to  their  wisdom  shall  seem  most  proper  for 
the  attainment  of  the  end  proposed. 

One  of  the  unavoidable  consequences  of  the  present  insurrec 
tion  is  the  entire  suppression,  in  many  places,  of  all  the  ordi 
nary  means  of  administering  civil  justice  by  the  officers,  and  in 
the  forms  of  existing  law.  This  is  the  case,  in  whole  or  in  part 


THE   MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  85 

in  all  the  insurgent  States ;  and  as  our  armies  advance  upon  and 
take  possession  of  parts  of  those  States,  the  practical  evil 
becomes  more  apparent.  There  are  no  courts  nor  officers  to 
whom  the  citizens  of  other  States  may  apply  for  the  enforcement 
of  their  lawful  claims  against  citizens  of  the  insurgent  States ; 
and  there  is  a  vast  amount  of  debt  constituting  such  claims. 
Some  have  estimated  it  as  high  as  two  hundred  million  dollars, 
due,  in  large  part,  from  insurgents  in  open  rebellion  to  loyal 
citizens  who  are,  even  now,  making  great  sacrifices  in  the  dis 
charge  of  their  patriotic  duty  to  support  the  Government. 

Under  these  circumstances,  I  have  been  urgently  solicited  to 
establish,  by  military  power,  courts  to  administer  summary 
justice  in  such  cases.  I  have  thus  far  declined  to  do  it,  not 
because  I  had  any  doubt  that  the  end  proposed — the  collection 
of  the  debts — was  just  and  right  in  itself,  but  because  I  have 
been  unwilling  to  go  beyond  the  pressure  of  necessity  in  the 
unusual  exercise  of  power.  But  the  powers  of  Congress,  I 
suppose,  are  equal  to  the  anomalous  occasion,  and  therefore  I 
refer  the  whole  matter  to  Congress,  with  the  hope  that  a  plan 
may  be  devised  for  the  administration  of  justice  in  all  such  parts 
of  the  insurgent  States  and  Territories  as  may  be  under  the  con 
trol  of  this  Government,  wrhether  by  a  voluntary  return  to  alle 
giance  and  order,  or  by  the  power  of  our  arms ;  this,  however, 
not  to  be  a  permanent  institution,  but  a  temporary  substitute, 
and  to  cease  as  soon  as  the  ordinary  courts  can  be  re-established 
in  peace. 

It  is  important  that  some  more  convenient  means  should  be 
provided,  if  possible,  for  the  adjustment  of  claims  against  the 
Government,  especially  in  view  of  their  increased  number  by 
reason  of  the  war.  It  is  as  much  the  duty  of  Government  to 
render  prompt  justice  against  itself,  in  favor  of  citizens,  as  it  is 
to  administer  the  same  between  private  individuals.  The 
investigation  and  adjudication  of  claims,  in  their  nature  belong 
to  the  judicial  department;  besides,  it  is  apparent  that  the 
attention  of  Congress  will  be  more  than  usually  engaged,  for 
some  time  to  come,  with  great  national  questions.  It  is  intended, 
by  the  organization  of  the  Court  of  Claims,  mainly  to  remove 
this  branch  of  business  from  the  halls  of  Congress;  but  while 


86  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

the  court  has  proved  to  be  an  effective  and  valuable  means  of 
investigation,  it  in  great  degree  fails  to  effect  the  object  of  its 
creation,  for  want  of  power  to  make  its  judgments  final. 

Fully  aware  of  the  delicacy,  not  to  say  the  danger,  of  the 
subject,  I  commend  to  your  careful  consideration  whether  this 
power  of  making  judgments  final  may  not  properly  be  given  to 
the  court,  reserving  the  right  of  appeal  on  questions  of  law  to 
the  Supreme  Court,  with  such  other  provisions  as  experience 
may  have  shown  to  be  necessary. 

******** 

The  present  insurrection  shows,  I  think,  that  the  extension  of 
this  district  across  the  Potomac  River,  at  the  time  of  establish- 
lishing  the  Capital  here,  was  eminently  wise,  and  consequently 
that  the  relinquish ment  of  that  portion  of  it  which  lies  within 
the  State  of  Virginia  was  unwise  and  dangerous.  I  submit  for 
your  consideration  the  expediency  of  regaining  that  part  of  the 
district,  and  the  restoration  of  the  original  boundaries  thereof, 
through  negotiations  with  the  State  of  Virginia. 

The  report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  with  the  accom 
panying  documents,  exhibits  the  condition  of  the  several 
branches  of  the  public  business  pertaining  to  that  department. 
The  depressing  influences  of  the  insurrection  have  been  espe 
cially  felt  in  the  operations  of  the  Patent  and  General  Land 
Offices.  The  cash  receipts  from  the  sales  of  public  lands  during 
the  past  year  have  exceeded  the  expenses  of  our  land  system 
only  about  two  hundred  thousand  dollars.  The  sales  have  been 
entirely  suspended  in  the  Southern  States,  while  the  interrup 
tions  to  the  business  of  the  country,  and  the  diversion  of  large 
numbers  of  men  from  labor  to  military  service,  have  obstructed 
settlements  in  the  new  States  and  Territories  of  the  Northwest. 
******** 

The  demands  upon  the  Pension  Office  will  be  largely  increased 
by  the  insurrection.  Numerous  applications  for  pensions,  based 
upon  the  casualties  of  the  existing  war,  have  already  been  made. 
There  is  reason  to  believe  that  many  who  are  now  upon  the  pen 
sion  rolls,  and  in  receipt  of  the  bounty  of  the  Government,  are 
in  the  ranks  of  the  insurgent  army  or  giving  them  aid  and  com 
fort.  The  Secretary  of  the  Interior  has  directed  a  suspension 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.        87 

of  the  payment  of  the  pensions  of  such  persons  upon  proof  of 
their  disloyalty.  I  recommend  that  Congress  authorize  that 
officer  to  cause  the  names  of  such  persons  to  be  stricken  from 
the  pension  rglls. 

The  relations  of  the  Government  with  the  Indian  tribes  have 
been  greatly  disturbed  by  the  insurrection,  especially  in  the  south 
ern  superintendency  and  in  that  of  New  Mexico.  The  Indian 
country  south  of  Kansas  is  in  the  possession  of  the  insurgents 
from  Texas  and  Arkansas.  The  agents  of  the  United  States 
appointed  since  the  4th  of  March  for  this  superintendency  have 
been  unable  to  reach  their  posts,  while  the  most  of  those  who 
were  in  the  office  before  that  time  have  espoused  the  insurrec 
tionary  cause,  and  assume  to  exercise  the  power  of  agents  by 
virtue  of  commissions  from  the  insurrectionists.  It  has  been 
stated  in  the  public  press  that  a  portion  of  those  Indians  have 
been  organized  as  a  military  force,  and  are  attached  to  the  army 
of  the  insurgents.  Although  the  Government  has  no  official 
information  upon  this  subject,  letters  have  been  written  to  the 
Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  by  several  prominent  chiefs, 
giving  assurance  of  their  loyalty  to  the  United  States,  and 
expressing  a  wish  for  the  presence  of  Federal  troops  to  protect 
them,  ft  is  believed  that  upon  the  repossession  of  the  country 
by  the  Federal  forces,  the  Indians  will  readily  cease  all  hostile 
demonstrations,  and  resume  their  former  relations  to  the  Gov 
ernment. 

Agriculture,  confessedly  the  largest  interest  in  the  nation,  has 
not  a  department,  nor  a  bureau,  but  a  clerkship  only,  assigned 
to  it  in  the  Government.  While  it  is  fortunate  that  this  great 
interest  is  go  independent  in  its  nature  as  to  not  have  demanded 
and  extorted  more  from  the  Government,  I  respectfully  ask 
Congress  to  consider  whether  something  more  can  not  be  given 
voluntarily  with  general  advantage. 

Annual  reports  exhibiting  the  condition  of  our  agriculture, 
commerce,  and  manufactures,  would  present  a  fund  of  informa 
tion  of  great  practical  value  to  the  country.  While  I  make  no 
suggestion  as  to  details,  I  venture  the  opinion  that  an  agricul 
tural  and  statistical  bureau  might  profitably  be  organized. 

The  execution  of  the  laws  for  the  suppression  of  the  African 


88        THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

slave-trade  has  been  confided  to  the  Department  of  the  Interior. 
It  is  a  subject  of  gratulation  that  the  efforts  which  have  been 
made  for  the  suppression  of  this  inhuman  traffic  have  been 
recently  attended  with  unusual  success.  Five  ^  vessels  being 
fitted  out  for  the  slave-trade  have  been  seized  and  condemned. 
Two  mates  of  vessels  engaged  in  the  trade,  and  one  person  in 
equipping  a  vessel  as  a  slaver,  have  been  convicted  and  subjected 
to  the  penalty  of  fine  and  imprisonment,  and  one  captain  taken 
with  a  cargo  of  Africans  on  board  his  vessel,  has  been  convicted 
of  the  highest  grade  of  offence  under  our  laws,  the  punishment 
of  which  is  death. 

******** 

Under  and  by  virtue  of  the  act  of  Congress  entitled  "  An  act 
to  confiscate  property  used  for  insurrectionary  purposes," 
approved  August  6,  1861,  the  legal  claims  of  certain  persons 
to  the  labor  and  service  of  certain  other  persons  have  become 
forfeited ;  and  numbers  of  the  latter,  thus  liberated,  are  already 
dependent  on  the  United  States,  and  must  be  provided  for  in 
some  way.  Besides  this,  it  is  not  impossible  that  some  of  the 
States  will  pass  similar  enactments  for  their  own  benefit  respec 
tively,  and  by  operation  of  which  persons  of  the  same  class  will 
be  thrown  upon  them  for  disposal.  In  such  case  I  recommend 
that  Congress  provide  for  accepting  such  persons  from  such 
States,  according  to  some  mode  of  valuation,  in  lieu,  pro  tanto, 
of  direct  taxes,  or  upon  some  other  plan  to  be  agreed  on  with 
such  States  respectively ;  that  such  persons,  on  such  acceptance 
by  the  General  Government,  be  at  once  deemed  free  ;  and  that, 
in  any  event,  steps  be  taken  for  colonizing  both  classes  (or  the 
one  first  mentioned,  if  the  other  shall  not  be  brought  into  exist 
ence)  at  some  place  or  places  in  a  climate  congenial  to  them. 
It  might  be  well  to  consider,  too,  whether  the  free  colored  peo 
ple  already  in  the  United  States  could  not,  so  far  as  individuals 
may  desire,  be  included  in  such  colonization. 

To  carry  out  the  plan  of  colonization  may  involve  the  acquir 
ing  of  territory,  and  also  the  appropriation  of  money  beyond 
that  to  be  expended  in  the  territorial  acquisition.  Having 
practiced  the  acquisition  of  territory  for  nearly  sixty  years,  the 
question  of  constitutional  power  to  do  so  is  no  longer  an  open 


THE   MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  89 

one  with  us.  The  power  was  questioned  at  first  by  Mr.  Jeffer 
son,  who,  however,  in  the  purchase  of  Louisiana,  yielded  his 
scruples  on  the  plea  of  great  expediency.  If  it  be  said  that  the 
only  legitimate  object  of  acquiring  territory  is  to  furnish  homes 
for  white  men,  this  measure  effects  that  object ;  foi  the  emigra 
tion  of  colored  men  leaves  additional  room  for  white  men  remain 
ing  or  coming  here.  Mr.  Jefferson,  however,  placed  the  impor 
tance  of  procuring  Louisiana  more  on  political  and  commercial 
grounds  than  on  providing  room  for  population. 

On  this  whole  proposition,  including  the  appropriation  of 
money  with  the  acquisition  of  territory,  does  not  the  expediency 
amount  to  absolute  necessity — that,  without  which  the  Govern 
ment  itself  can  not  be  perpetuated  ? 

The  war  continues.  In  considering  the  policy  to  be  adopted 
for  suppressing  the  insurrection,  I  have  been  anxious  and  care 
ful  that  the  inevitable  conflict  for  this  purpose  shall  not  degen 
erate  into  a  violent  and  remorseless  revolutionary  struggle. 

In  the  exercise  of  my  best  discretion  I  have  adhered  to  the 
blockade  of  the  ports  held  by  the  insurgents,  instead  of  putting 
in  force  by  proclamation  the  law  of  Congress  enacted  at  the  late 
session  for  closing  those  ports. 

So,  also,  obeying  the  dictates  of  prudence,  as  well  as  the 
obligations  of  law,  instead  of  transcending  I  have  adhered  to 
the  act  of  Congress  to  confiscate  property  used  for  insurrec 
tionary  purposes.  If  a  new  law  upoa  the  same  subject  shall  be 
proposed,  its  propriety  will  be  duly  considered.  The  Union 
must  be  preserved  ;  and  hence  all  the  indispensable  means  must 
be  employed.  We  should  not  be  in  haste  to  determine  that 
radical  and  extreme  measures,  which  may  feach  the  loyal  as  well 
as  the  disloyal  are  indispensable. 

The  inaugural  address  at  the  beginning  of  the  Administration, 
and  the  message  to  Congress  at  the  late  special  session,  were 
both  mainly  devoted  to  the  domestic  controversy  out  of  which 
the  insurrection  and  consequent  war  have  sprung.  Nothing 
now  occurs  to  add  or  subtract  to  or  from  the  principles  or  gen 
eral  purposes  stated  and  expressed  in  those  documents. 

The  last  ray  of  hope  for  preserving  the  Union  peaceably 
expired  at  the  assault  upon  Fort  Sumter ;  and  a  general  review 


90  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

of  what  has  occurred  since  may  not  be  unprofitable.  What  was 
painfully  uncertain  then  is  much  better  defined  and  more  distinct 
now ;  and  the  progress  of  events  is  plainly  in  the  right  direc 
tion.  The  insurgents  confidently  claimed  a  strong  support  from 
north  of  Mason  and  Dixon's  line ;  and  the  friends  of  the  Union 
were  not  free  from  apprehension  on  the  point.  This,  however, 
was  soon  settled  definitely,  and  on  the  right  side.  South  of  the 
line,  noble  little  Delaware  led  off  right  from  the  first.  Maryland 
was  made  to  seem  against  the  Union.  Our  soldiers  were  assaulted, 
bridges  were  burned,  and  railroads  torn  up  within  her  limits ; 
and  wre  were  many  days,  at  one  time,  without  the  ability  to 
bring  a  single  regiment  over  her  soil  to  the  capital.  Now  her 
bridges  and  railroads  are  repaired  and  open  to  the  Government ; 
she  already  gives  seven  regiments  to  the  cause  of  the  Union, 
and  none  to  the  enemy ;  and  her  people,  at  a  regular  election, 
have  sustained  the  Union  by  a  larger  majority  and  a  larger 
aggregate  vote  than  they  ever  before  gave  to  any  candidate  or 
any  question.  Kentucky,  too,  for  some  time  in  doubt,  is  now 
decidedly  and,  I  think,  unchangeably  ranged  on  the  side  of  the 
Union.  Missouri  is  comparatively  quiet,  and,  I  believe,  can  not 
again  be  overrun  by  the  insurrectionists.  These  three  States  of 
Maryland,  Kentucky,  and  Missouri,  neither  of  which  would 
promise  a  single  soldier  at  first,  have  now  an  aggregate  of  not 
less  than  forty  thousand  in  the  field  for  the  Union ;  while  of 
their  citizens,  certainly  not  more  than  a  third  of  that  number, 
and  they  of  doubtful  whereabouts  and  doubtful  existence,  are 
in  arms  against  it.  After  a  somewhat  bloody  struggle  of  months, 
winter  closes  on  the  Union  people  of  Western  Virginia,  leav 
ing  them  masters  of  their  own  country. 

An  insurgent  force  of  about  fifteen  hundred,  for  months 
dominating  the  narrow  peninsular  region  constituting  the  coun 
ties  of  Accomac  and  Northampton,  and  known  as  the  Eastern  Shore 
of  Virginia,  together  with  some  contiguous  parts  of  Maryland, 
have  laid  down  their  arms ;  and  the  people  there  have  renewed 
their  allegiance  to,  and  accepted  the  protection  of  the  old  flag. 
This  leaves  no  armed  insurrectionist  north  of  the  Potomac,  or 
east  of  the  Chesapeake. 

Also,  we  have  obtained  a  footing  at  each  of  the  isolated  points 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  91 

on  the  Southern  coast,  of  Hatteras,  Port  Royal,  Tybee  Island, 
near  Savannah,  and  Ship  Island;  and  we  likewise  have  some 
general  accounts  of  popular  movements  in  behalf  of  the  Union 
in  North  Carolina  and  Tennessee. 

These  things  demonstrate  that  the  cause  of  the  Union  is 
advancing  steadily  and  certainly  southward. 

Since  your  last  adjournment  Lieutenant-General  Scott  has 
retired  from  the  head  of  the  army.  During  his  long  life  the 
nation  has  not  been  unmindful  of  his  merit ;  yet,  on  calling  to 
mind  how  faithfully,  ably,  and  brilliantly  he  has  served  the 
country,  from  a  time  far  back  in  our  history,  when  few  of  the 
now  living  had  been  born,  and  thenceforward  continually,  I  can 
not  but  think  we  are  still  his  debtors.  I  submit,  therefore,  for 
your  consideration  what  further  mark  of  recognition  is  due  to 
him,  and  to  ourselves  as  a  grateful  people. 

With  the  retirement  of  General  Scott  came  the  executive  duty 
of  appointing  in  his  stead  a  general-in-chief  of  the  army.  It  is 
a  fortunate  circumstance  that  neither  in  council  nor  country 
was  there,  so  far  as  I  know,  any  difference  of  opinion  as  to  the 
proper  person  to  be  selected.  The  retiring  chief  repeatedly 
expressed  his  judgment  in  favor  of  General  McClellan  for  the 
position ;  and  in  this  the  nation  seemed  to  give  a  unanimous 
concurrence.  The  designation  of  General  McClellan  is,  there 
fore,  in  considerable  degree,  the  selection  of  the  country  as  well 
as  of  the  Executive ;  and  hence  there  is  better  reason  to  hope 
there  will  be  given  him  the  confidence  and  cordial  support  thus, 
by  fair  implication  promised,  and  without  which  he  can  not, 
with  so  full  efficiency,  serve  the  country. 

It  has  been  said  that  one  bad  general  is  better  than  two  good 
ones :  and  the  saying  is  true,  if  taken  to  mean  no  more  than 
that  an  army  is  better  directed  by  a  single  mind,  though  inferior, 
than  by  two  superior  ones  at  variance  and  cross-purposes  with 
each  other. 

And  the  same  is  true  in  all  joint  operations  wherein  those 
engaged  can  have  none  but  a  common  end  in  view,  and  can 
differ  only  as  to  the  choice  of  means.  In  a  storm  at  sea,  no  one 
on  board  can  wish  the  ship  to  sink ;  and  yet  not  unfrequently 


92  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

all  go  down  together,  because  too  many  will  direct,  and  no 
single  mind  can  be  allowed  to  control. 

It  continues  to  develop  that  the  insurrection  is  largely,  if  not 
exclusively  a  war  upon  the  first  principle  of  popular  govern 
ment — the  rights  of  the  people.  Conclusive  evidence  of  this 
is  found  in  the  most  grave  and  maturely-considered  public  doc 
uments,  as  well  as  in  the  general  tone  of  the  insurgents.  In 
those  documents  we  find  the  abridgment  of  the  existing  right 
of  suffrage,  and  the  denial  to  the  people  of  all  right  to  partici 
pate  in  the  selection  of  public  officers,  except  the  legislative, 
boldly  advocated,  with  labored  arguments  to  prove  that  large 
control  of  the  people  in  government  is  the  source  of  all  political 
evil.  Monarchy  itself  is  sometimes  hinted  at  as  a  possible 
refuge  from  the  power  of  the  people. 

In  my  present  position,  I  could  scarcely  be  justified  were  I 
to  omit  raising  a  warning  voice  against  this  approach  of  re 
turning  despotism. 

It  is  not  needed,  nor  fitting  here,  that  a  general  argument 
should  be  made  in  favor  of  popular  institutions ;  but  there  is 
one  point,  with  its  connections,  not  so  hackneyed  as  most  others, 
to  which  I  ask  a  brief  attention.  It  is  the  effort  to  place  capital 
on  an  equal  footing  with,  if  not  above,  labor,  in  the  structure 
of  Government.  It  is  assumed  that  labor  is  available  only  in 
connection  with  capital ;  that  nobody  labors  unless  somebody 
else,  awning  capital,  somehow  by  the  use  of  it  induces  him  to 
labor.  This  assumed,  it  is  next  considered  whether  it  is  best 
that  capital  shall  hire  laborers,  and  thus  iniluce  them  to  work  by 
their  own  consent,  or  buy  them,  and  drive  them  to  it  without 
their  consent.  Having  proceeded  so  far,  it  is  naturally  con 
cluded  that  all  laborers  are  either  hired  laborers,  or  what  we 
call  slaves.  And  further,  it  is  assumed  that  whoever  is  once  a 
hired  laborer  is  fixed  in  that  condition  for  life. 

Now,  there  is  no  such  relation  between  capital  and  labor  as 
assumed ;  nor  is  there  any  such  thing  as  a  free  man  being  fixed 
for  life  in  the  condition  of  a  hired  laborer.  Both  these  assump 
tions  are  false,  and  all  inferences  from  them  are  groundless. 

Labor  is  prior  to  and  independent  of  capital.  Capital  is  only 
the  fruit  of  labor,  and  could  never  have  existed  if  labor  had  not 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  93 

first  existed.  Labor  is  the  superior  of  capital,  and  deserves 
much  the  higher  consideration.  Capital  has  its  rights,  which 
are  as  worthy  of  protection  as  any  other  rights.  Nor  is  it  de 
nied  that  there  is,  and  probably  always  will  be,  a  relation  be 
tween  labor  and  capital,  producing  mutual  benefits.  The  error 
is  in  assuming  that  the  whole  labor  of  community  exists  within 
that  relation.  A  few  men  own  capital,  and  those  few  avoid 
labor  themselves,  and,  with  their  capital,  hire  or  buy  another 
few  to  labor  for  them.  A  large  majority  belong  to  neither  class 
—neither  work  for  others,  nor  have  others  working  for  them. 
In  most  of  the  Southern  States,  a  majority  of  the  whole  people 
of  all  colors  are  neither  slaves  nor  masters ;  while  in  the  North 
ern,  a  large  majority  are  neither  hirers  nor  hired.  Men,  with 
their  families — wives,  sons,  and  daughters — work  for  themselves, 
on  their  farms,  in  their  houses,  and  in  their  shops,  taking  the 
whole  product  to  themselves,  and  asking  no  favors  of  capital  on 
the  one  hand,  nor  of  hired  laborers  or  slaves  on  the  other.  It 
is  not  forgotten  that  a  considerable  number  of  persons  mingle 
their  own  labor  with  capital — that  is,  they  labor  with  their  own 
hands,  and  also  buy  or  hire  others  to  labor  for  them ;  but  this 
is  only  a  mixed,  and  not  a  distinct  class.  No  principle  stated 
is  disturbed  by  the  existence  of  this  mixed  class. 

Again :  as  has  already  been  said,  there  is  not  of  necessity  any 
such  thing  as  the  free  hired  laborer  being  fixed  to  that  condi 
tion  for  life.  Many  independent  men  everywhere  in  these 
States,  a  few  years  back  in  their  lives,  were  hired  laborers.  The 
prudent,  penniless  beginner  in  the  world  labors  for  wages  awhile, 
saves  a  surplus  with  which  to  buy  tools  or  land  for  himself, 
then  labors  on  his  own  account  another  while,  and  at  length 
hires  another  new  beginner  to  help  him.  This  is  the  just,  and 
generous,  and  prosperous  system,  which  opens  the  way  to  all, 
gives  hope  to  all,  and  consequent  energy,  and  progress,  and 
improvement  of  condition  to  all.  No  men  living  are  more 
worthy  to  be  trusted  than  those  who  toil  up  from  poverty — 
none  less  inclined  to  take  or  touch  aught  which  they  have  not 
honestly  earned.  Let  them  beware  of  surrendering  a  political 
power  which  they  already  possess,  and  which,  if  surrendered, 
will  surely  be  used  to  close  the  door  of  advancement  against 


94  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

such   as  they,  and  to  fix  new  disabilities  and  burdens  upon 
them,  till  all  of  liberty  shall  be  lost. 

From  the  first  taking  of  our  national  census  to  the  last  are 
seventy  years ;  and  we  find  our  population,  at  the  end  of  the 
period,  eight  times  as  great  as  it  was  at  the  beginning.  The 
increase  of  those  other  things  which  men  deem  desirable  has 
been  even  greater.  We  thus  have,  at  one  view,  what  the  popu 
lar  principle  applied  to  the  Government  through  the  machinery 
of  the  States  and  the  Union,  has  produced  in  a  given  time ; 
and  also  what,  if  firmly  maintained,  it  promises  for  the  future. 
There  are  already  among  us  those  who,  if  the  Union  be  pre 
served,  will  live  to  see  it  contain  two  hundred  and  fifty  millions. 
The  struggle  of  to-day  is  not  altogether  for  to-day ;  it  is  for  a 
vast  future  also.  With  a  reliance  on  Providence,  all  the  more 
firm  and  earnest,  let  us  proceed  in  the  great  task  which  events 
have  devolved  upon  us.  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

GENERAL    M'CLELLAN. 

The  appointment  of  General  McClellan  to  the  com 
mand  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  after  the  battle  of 
Bull  Run,  was  received  with  satisfaction  in  military  cir 
cles,  and  by  the  public  generally.  We  all  remember  the 
hearty  confidence  which  all  loyal  people  gave  him,  and 
the  high  hopes  we  all  based  upon  the  general  estimate 
of  his  abilities.  We  all  remember,  too,  how,  accom 
plished  military  man  and  capable  organizer  as  he  was, 
he  yet  tried  the  nation's  soul  by  his  delay  and  his  hes 
itating  strategy.  Of  our  impatience  the  following  Orders 
were  the  first  public  official  expression : 

ARMY    ORDER. 

EXECUTIVE  MANSION,  WASHINGTON,  January  27,  1862. 

Ordered,  That  the  twenty-second  day  of  February,  1862,  be 
the  day  for  a  general  movement  of  the  land  and  naval  forces  of 
the  United  States  against  the  insurgent  forces.  That  especially 
the  army  at  and  about  Fortress  Monroe,  the  army  of  the  Poto- 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  95 

mac,  the  army  of  Western  Virginia,  the  army  near  Munfords- 
ville,  Kentucky,  the  army  and  flotilla  at  Cairo,  and  a  naval 
force  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  be  ready  to  move  on  that  day. 

That  all  other  forces,  both  land  and  naval,  with  their  respective 
commanders,  obey  existing  orders  for  the  time,  and  be  ready  to 
obey  additional  orders  when  duly  given. 

That  the  heads  of  departments,  and  especially  the  Secretaries 
of  War  and  of  the  Navy,  with  all  their  subordinates,  and  the 
General-in-Chief,  with  all  other  commanders  and  subordinates 
of  land  and  naval  forces,  will  severally  be  held  to  their  strict 
and  full  responsibilities  for  prompt  execution  of  this  order. 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

ARMY   ORDER. 

EXECUTIVE  MANSION,  WASHINGTON,  January  31, 18G2. 

Ordered,  That  all  the  disposable  force  of  the  Anny  of  the 
Potomac,  after  providing  safely  for  the  defence  of  Washington, 
be  formed  into  an  expedition  for  the  immediate  object  of  seizing 
and  occupying  a  point  upon  the  railroad  southwest  of  what  is 
known  as  Manassas  Junction,  all  details  to  be  in  the  discretion 
of  the  Commander-in-Chief,  and  the  expedition  to  move  before 
or  on  the  twenty-second  day  of  February  next. 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

The  following  letter  from  Mr.  Lincoln  to  General 
McClellan  is  one  of  the  earliest  manifestations  of  a  rad 
ical  discrepancy  of  views  between  the  General  and  the 
Administration,  which  became  the  source  of  great  em- 
barrasment,  out  of  which  the  soldier  did  not  extricate 
himself  or  his  country  by  success,  and  in  the  course  of 
which  the  civilian  showed  at  least  the  ability  always  to 
touch  with  his  pen  the  right  point. 

TO   GENERAL    M'CLELLAN    ON    THE    PLAN    OF    THE    CAM 
PAIGN   AGAINST   RICHMOND. 

EXECUTIVE  MANSION,  WASHINGTON,  February  3,  1862. 

My  Dear  Sir — You  and  I  have  distinct  and  different  plans  for 
a  movement  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  ;  yours  to  be  done  by 


96  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

the  Chesapeake,  up  the  Rappahannock  to  Urbana,  and  across 
land  to  the  terminus  of  the  railroad  on  the  York  River ;  mine 
to  move  directly  to  a  point  on  the  railroad  southwest  of 
Manassas. 

If  you  will  give  satisfactory  answers  to  the  following  ques 
tions,  I  shall  gladly  yield  my  plan  to  yours : 

1st.  Does  not  your  plan  involve  a  greatly  larger  expenditure 
of  time  and  money  than  mine  ? 

2d.  Wherein  is  a  victory  more  certain  by  your  plan  than  mine  ? 
-  3d.  Wherein  is  a  victory  more  valuable  by  your  plan  than  mine  ? 

4th.  In  fact,  would  it  not  be  less  valuable  in  this :  that  it  would 
break  no  great  line  of  the  enemy's  communication,  while  mine 
would  ? 

5th.  In  case  of  disaster,  would  not  a  retreat  bo  more  difficult 
by  your  plan  than  mine  ? 

Yours,  truly,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Major- General  McClellan. 

" ARBITRARY"  ARRESTS. 

At  the  outbreak  of  the  rebellion,  emissaries  of  the 
rebels,  and  their  active  sympathizers,  hardly  less  danger 
ous,  were  scattered  over  the  country.  Mr.  Lincoln,  fol 
lowing  in  this  matter  the  example  of  Washington,  ordered 
the  summary  arrest  and  -imprisonment  of  some  of  these 
persons,  and  in  this  manner,  without  a  doubt,  neutralized 
many  efforts  that  could  have  been  met  in  no  other  way. 
Maryland  was  the  scene  of  many  of  these  arrests  as  to 
which  Mr.  Lincoln  spoke  frankly  thus  : 

"  The  public  safety  renders  it  necessary  that  the  grounds  of 
these  arrests  should  at  present  be  withheld,  but  at  the  proper 
time  they  will  b,e  made  public.  Of  one  thing  the  people  of 
Maryland  may  rest  assured,  that  no  arrest  has  been  made,  or 
will  be  made,  not  based  on  substantial  and  unmistakable  com 
plicity  with  those  in  armed  rebellion  against  the  Government 
of  the  United  States.  In  no  case  has  an  arrest  been  made-  on 
mere  suspicion,  or  through  personal  or  partisan  animosity,  but 
in  all  cases  the  Government  is  in  possession  of  tangible  and  un- 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  97 

mistakable  evidence,  which  will,  when  made  public,  be  satis 
factory  to  every  loyal  citizen." 

These  arrests  were  made  at  first  under  the  authority 
of  the  State  Department,  but  on  the  14th  of  February, 
1862,  this  matter  was  transferred  to  the  War  Depart 
ment,  which  transfer  was  made  the  occasion  of  the  fol 
lowing  State  paper  upon  the  subject,  in  which  the  rea 
sons  for  these  "arbitrary  arrests"  are  fully  set  forth. 
After  the  appearance  of  this  order  there  was  little 
complaint  heard  upon  this  subject,  except  from  those 
journals  and  individuals  who  were  well  known  as  sym 
pathizers  with  the  rebellion. 

EXECUTIVE   ORDERS   IN    RELATION  TO   STATE  PRISONERS. 
WAR  DEPABTMENT,  WASHINGTON,  Feb.  14,  1862. 

The  breaking  out  of  a  formidable  insurrection,  based  on  a 
conflict  of  political  ideas,  being  an  event  without  precedent  in 
the  United  States,  was  necessarily  attended  by  great  confusion 
and  perplexity  of  the  public  mind.  Disloyalty,  before  unsus 
pected,  suddenly  became  bold,  and  treason  astonished  the 
world  by  bringing  at  once  into  the  field  military  forces  superior 
in  numbers  to  the  standing  army  of  the  United  States. 

Every  department  of  the  Government  was  paralyzed  by 
treason.  Defection  appeared  in  the  Senate,  in  the  House  of 
Representatives,  in  the  Cabinet,  in  the  Federal  Courts ;  Minis- 
sters  and  Consuls  returned  from  foreign  countries  to  enter  the 
insurrectionary  councils,  or  land  or  naval  forces  ;  commanding 
and  other  officers  of  the  army  and  in  the  navy  betrayed  the 
counsels  or  deserted  their  posts  for  commands  in  the  insurgent 
forces.  Treason  was  flagrant  in  the  revenue  and  in  the  post- 
office  service,  as  well  as  in  the  territorial  governments  and  in 
the  Indian  reserves. 

Not  only  Governors,  Judges,  Legislators,  and  ministerial 
officers  in  the  States,  but  even  whole  States,  rushed,  one  after 
another,  with  apparent  unanimity,  into  rebellion.  The  capital 
was  besieged  and  its  connection  with  all  the  States  cut  off, 

5 


98  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

Even  in  the  portions  of  the  country  which  were  most  loyal, 
political  combinations  and  secret  societies  were  formed  further, 
ing  the  work  of  disunion,  while,  from  motives  of  disloyalty  or 
cupidity,  or  from  excited  passions  or  perverted  sympathies, 
individuals  were  found  furnishing  men,  money,  and  materials 
of  war  and  supplies  to  the  insurgents'  military  and  naval  forces. 
Armies,  ships,  fortifications,  navy  yards,  arsenals,  military  posts 
and  garrisons,  one  after  another,  were  betrayed  or  abandoned 
to  the  insurgents. 

Congress  had  not  anticipated  and  so  had  not  provided  for  the 
emergency.  The  municipal  authorities  were  powerless  and  inac 
tive.  The  judicial  machinery  seemed  as  if  it  had  been  designed 
not  to  sustain  the  Government,  but  to  embarrass  and  betray  it. 

Foreign  intervention,  openly  invited  and  industriously  insti 
gated  by  the  abettors  of  the  insurrection,  became  imminent, 
and  has  only  been  prevented  by  the  practice  of  strict  and  im 
partial  justice  with  the  most  perfect  moderation  in  our  inter 
course  with  nations. 

The  public  mind  was  alarmed  and  apprehensive,  though 
fortunately  not  distracted  or  disheartened.  It  seemed  to  be 
doubtful  whether  the  Federal  Government,  which  one  year 
before  had  been  thought  a  model  worthy  of  universal  accept 
ance,  had  indeed  the  ability  to  defend  and  maintain  itself. 

Some  reverses,  which  perhaps  were  unavoidable,  suftered  by 
newly  levied  and  inefficient  forces,  discouraged  the  loyal,  and 
gave  new  hopes  to  the  insurgents.  Voluntary  enlistments 
seemed  about  to  cease,  and  desertions  commenced.  Parties 
speculated  upon  the  questions  whether  conscriptions  had  not 
become  necessary  to  fill  up  the  armies  of  the  United  States. 

In  this  emergency  the  President  felt  it  his  duty  to  employ 
with  energy  the  extraordinary  powers  which  the  Constitution 
confides  to  him  in  cases  of  insurrection.  He  called  into  the 
field  such  military  and  naval  forces,  unauthorized  by  the  exist 
ing  laws,  as  seemed  necessary.  He  directed  measures  to  prevent 
the  use  of  the  post-office  for  treasonable  correspondence.  He 
subjected  passengers  to  and  from  foreign  countries  to  new  pass 
port  regulations,  and  he  instituted  a  blockade,  suspended  the 
writ  of  habeas  census  in  various  places,  and  caused  persons  who 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  99 

were  represented  to  him  as  being  engaged  or  about  to  engage  in 
disloyal  and  treasonable  practices  to  be  arrested  by  special  civil  as 
well  as  military  agencies,  and  detained  in  military  custody,  when 
necessary,  to  prevent  them  and  deter  others  from  such  practices. 
Examinations  of  such  cases  were  instituted,  and  some  of  the 
persons  so  arrested  have  been  discharged  from  time  to  time, 
under  circumstances  or  upon  conditions  compatible,  as  was 
thought,  with  the  public  safety. 

Meantime  a  favorable  change  of  public  opinion  has  occurred. 
The  line  between  loyalty  and  disloyalty  is  plainly  defined  ;  the 
whole  structure  of  the  Government  is  firm  and  stable ;  appre- 
prehensions  of  public  danger  and  facilities  for  treasonable 
practices  have  diminished  with  the  passions  which  prompted 
heedless  p?  -sons  to  adopt  them.  The  insurrection  is  believed 
to  have  culminated  and  to  be  declining. 

The  President,  in  view  of  these  facts,  and  anxious  to  favor  a 
return  to  the  normal  course  of  the  Administration,  as  far  as 
regard  for  the  public  welfare  will  allow,  directs  that  all  politi 
cal  prisoners  or  State  prisoners  now  held  in  military  custody, 
be  released,  on  their  subscribing  to  a  parole  engaging  tjiem  to 
render  no  aid  or  comfort  to  the  enemies  in  hostility  to  the 
United  States. 

The  Secretary  of  War  will,  however,  at  his  discretion,  except 
from  the  effect  of  this  order  any  persons  detained  as  spies  in  the 
service  of  the  insurgents,  or  others  whose  release  at  the  present 
moment  may  be  deemed  incompatible  with  the  public  safety. 

To  all  persons  who  shall  be  so  released,  and  who  shall  keep 
their  parole,  the  President  grants  an  amnesty  for  any  past 
offences  of  treason  or  disloyalty  which  they  may  have  com 
mitted. 

Extraordinary  arrests  will  hereafter  be  made  under  the  direc 
tion  of  the  military  authorities  alone. 

By  order  of  the  President : 

EDWIN  M.  STANTON,  Secretary  of  War. 

THE    QUESTION   OF   SLAVERY. 

The  public  mind  had  now  been  brought  to  a  point  by 
the  resistance  and  the  spirit  of  the  insurgents,  at  which 


100       THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

Mr.  Lincoln  thought  it  prudent  to  bring  before  Congress 
the  question  of  the  abolition  of  slavery.  This  he  did 
in  the  following  Message,  whereby  he  proposed  only,  it 
will  be  seen,  such  a  co-operation  of  Congress  with  the  peo 
ple  of  the  Slave  States,  as  might  provide  for  the  grad 
ual  extinction  of  the  institution  which  in  three  years 
was  to  be  utterly  destroyed. 

MESSAGE   PROPOSING  AID    FOR   THE  GRADUAL  ABOLITION 
OF   SLAVERY. 

WASHINGTON,  March  6,  1862. 

Fellow-  Citizens  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives— I  rec 
ommend  the  adoption  of  a  joint  resolution  by  your  honorable 
body,  which  shall  be,  substantially,  as  follows : 

Resolved,  That  the  United  States,  in  order  to  co-operate  with 
any  State  which  may  adopt  gradual  abolition  of  slavery,  give 
to  such  State  pecuniary  aid,  to  be  used  by  such  State,  in  ita 
discretion,  to  compensate  it  for  the  inconvenience,  public  and 
private,  produced  by  such  change  of  system. 

If  the  proposition  contained  in  the  resolution  does  not  meet 
the  approval  of  Congress  and  the  country,  there  is  an  end  of  it. 
But  if  it  does  command  such  approval,  I  deem  it  of  importance 
that  the  States  and  people  immediately  interested  should  be  at 
once  distinctly  notified  of  the  fact,  so  that  they  may  begin  to 
consider  whether  to  accept  or  reject  it. 

The  Federal  Government  would  find  its  highest  interest  in 
such  a  measure  as  one  of  the  most  important  means  of  self- 
preservation.  The  leaders  of  the  existing  rebellion  entertain 
the  hope  that  this  Government  will  ultimately  be  forced  to 
acknowledge  the  independence  of  some  part  of  the  disaffected 
region,  and  that  all  the  Slave  States  north  of  such  part  will  then 
say,  "  The  Union  for  which  we  have  struggled  being  already 
gone,  we  now  choose  to  go  with  the  Southern  section."  To  de 
prive  them  of  this  hope  substantially  ends  the  rebellion ;  and 
the  initiation  of  emancipation  deprives  them  of  it,  and  of  all 
the  States  initiating  it. 


101 


The  point  is  not  that  all  the  States  tolerating  slavery  would 
very  soon,  if  at  all,  initiate  emancipation ;  but  while  the  offer 
is  equally  made  to  all,  the  more  Northern  shall,  by  such  initia 
tion,  make  it  certain  to  the  more  Southern  that  in  no  event  will 
the  former  ever  join  the  latter  in  their  proposed  Confederacy. 
I  say  initiation,  because,  in  my  judgment,  gradual  and  not  sud 
den  emancipation  is  better  for  all. 

In  the  mere  financial  or  pecuniary  view,  any  member  of  Con 
gress  with  the  census  or  an  abstract  of  the  Treasury  report  be 
fore  him,  can,  readily  see  for  himself  how  very  soon  the  current 
expenditures  of  this  war  would  purchase,  at  a  fair  valuation,  all 
the  slaves  in  any  named  State. 

Such  a  proposition  on  the  part  of  the  General  Government 
sets  up  no  claim  of  a  right  by  the  Federal  authority  to  interfere 
with  slavery  within  State  limits — referring  as  it  does  the  abso 
lute  control  of  the  subject,  in  each  case,  to  the  State  and  the 
people  immediately  interested.  It  is  proposed  as  a  matter  of 
perfectly  free  choice  to  them. 

In  the  annual  message,  last  December,  I  thought  fit  to  say 
"the  Union  must  be  preserved,  and  hence  all  indispensable 
means  must  be  employed."  I  said  this,  not  hastily  but  delib 
erately.  War  has  been  made,  and  continues  to  be  an  indispens 
able  means  to  this  end.  A  practical  reacknowledgment  of  the 
national  authority  would  render  the  war  unnecessary,  and  it 
would  at  once  cease.  But  resistance  continues,  and  the  war 
must  also  continue ;  and  it  is  impossible  to  foresee  all  the  inci 
dents  which  may  attend,  and  all  the  ruin  which  may  follow  it. 
%Such  as  may  seem  indispensable,  or  may  obviously  promise 
great  efficiency  towards  ending  the  struggle,  must  and  will  come. 

The  proposition  now  made  (though  an  offer  only)  I  hope  it 
may  be  esteemed  no  offence  to  ask  whether  the  pecuniary  con 
sideration  tendered  would  not  be  of  more  value  to  the  States 
and  private  persons  concerned  than  would  be  the  institution  and 
property  hi  it,  in  the  present  aspect  of  aftairs.  While  it  is  true 
that  the  adoption  of  the  proposed  resolution  would  be  merely 
initiatory,  and  not  within  itself  a  practical  measure,  it  is  rec 
ommended  in  the  hope  that  it  would  lead  to  important  prac 
tical  results. 


102       THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

In  full  view  of  my  great  responsibility  to  my  God  and  my 
country,  I  earnestly  beg  the  attention  of  Congress  and  the  peo 
ple  to  the  subject.  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

GENERAL   M'CLELLAN. 

The  McClellan  trouble  grew  day  by  day.  We  see  in 
this  brief  letter  how  tenderly  Mr.  Lincoln  dealt  with  his 
touchy  commander. 

EXECUTIVE  MANSION,         ) 
WASHINGTON,  March  31,  1862.  f 

My  Dear  Sir — This  morning  I  felt  constrained  to  order 
Blenker's  division  to  Fremont,  and  I  write  this  to  assure  you 
that  I  did  so  with  great  pain,  understanding  that  you  would 
wish  it  otherwise.  If  you  could  know  the  full  pressure  of  the 
case  I  am  confident  that  you  would  justify  it,  even  beyond  a 
mere  acknowledgment  that  the  Comniander-in-Chief  may  order 
What  he  pleases. 

Yours,  very  truly,  A.  LINCOLN. 

Major-General  MCCLELLAN. 

In  this  longer  communication  there  is  the  same  kind 
ness,  the  same  consideration ;  and  although  it  is  pervaded 
by  a  tone  of  authority,  that  authority  seems  almost  pater 
nal  in  its  expression. 

WASHINGTON,  April  9, 1S62. 

My  Dear  Sir — Your  dispatches,  complaining  that  you  are  not 
properly  sustained,  while  they  do  not  offend  me,  do  pain  me 
very  much. 

Blenker's  division  was  withdrawn  from  you  before  you  left 
here,  and  you  know  the  pressure  under  which  I  did  it,  and,  as  I 
thought,  acquiesced  in  it — certainly  not  without  reluctance. 

After  you  left,  I  ascertained  that  less  than  twenty  'thousand 
unorganized  men,  without  a  single  field  battery,  were  all  you 
designed  to  be  left  for  the  defence  of  Washington  and  Manassas 
Junction,  and  part  of  this  even  was  to  go  to  General  Hooker's 
old  position.  General  Banks's  corps,  once  designed  for  Manassas 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  103 

Junction,  was  diverted  and  tied  up  on  the  line  of  Winchester 
and  Strasburg,  and  could  not  leave  it  without  again  exposing 
the  upper  Potomac  and  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad.  This 
presented,  or  would  present,  when  McDowell  and  Sumner 
should  be  gone,  a  great  temptation  to  the  enemy  to  turn  back 
from  the  Ilappahannock  and  sack  Washington.  My  implicit 
order  that  Washington  should,  by  the  judgment  of  all  the  com 
manders  of  army  corps,  be  left  entirely  secure,  had  been  neg 
lected.  It  was  precisely  this  that  drove  me  to  detain  McDowell. 

I  do  not  forget  that  I  was  satisfied  with  your  arrangement  to 
leave  Banks  at  Manassas  Junction  :  but  when  that  arrangement 
was  broken  up,  and  nothing  was  substituted  for  it,  of  course  I 
was  constrained  to  substitute  something  for  it  myself.  And 
allow  me  to  ask,  do  you  really  think  I  should  permit  the  line 
from  Richmond,  via  Manassas  Junction,  to  this  city,  to  be  en 
tirely  open,  except  what  resistance  could  be  presented  by  less 
than  twenty  thousand  unorganized  troops  ?  This  is  a  question 
which  the  country  wTill  not  allow  me  to  evade. 

There  is  a  curious  mystery  about  the  number  of  troops  now 
with  you.  When  I  telegraphed  you  on  the  sixth,  saying  you  had 
over  a  hundred  thousand  with  you,  I  had  just  obtained  from 
the  Secretary  of  War  a  statement  taken,  as  he  said,  from  your 
own  returns,  making  one  hundred  and  eight  thousand  then  with 
you  and  en  route  to  you.  You  now  say  you  will  have  but  eighty 
five  thousand  wrhen  all  en  route  to  you  shall  have  reached  you. 
How  can  the  discrepancy  of  twenty-three  thousand  be  ac 
counted  for  ? 

As  to  General  Wool's  command,  I  understand  it  is  doing  for 
you  precisely  what  a  like  number  of  your  own  would  have  to 
do  if  that  command  was  away. 

I  suppose  the  whole  force  which  has  gone  forward  for  you  is 
with  you  by  this  time.  And  if  so,  I  think  it  is  the  precise  time 
for  you  to  strike  a  blow.  By  delay,  the  enemy  will  relatively 
gain  upon  you — that  is,  he  will  gain  faster  by  fortifications  and 
reinforcements  than  you  can  by  reinforcements  alone.  And 
once  more  let  me  tell  you,  it  is  indispensable  to  you  that  you 
strike  a  blow.  I  am  powerless  to  help  this.  You  will  do  me 
the  justice  to  remember  I  always  insisted  that  going  down  the 


104  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

bay  in  search  of  a  field,  instead  of  fighting  at  or  near  Manassas, 
was  only  shifting,  and  not  surmounting  a  difficulty  ;  that  we 
would  find  the  same  enemy,  and  the  same  or  equal  intrench- 
ments,  at  either  place.  The  country  will  not  fail  to  note,  is  now 
noting,  that  the  present  hesitation  to  move  upon  an  intrenched 
enemy  is  but  the  story  of  Manassas  repeated. 

I  beg  to  assure  you  that  I  have  never  written  to  you  or  spoken 
to  you  in  greater  kindness  of  feeling  than  now,  nor  with  a  fuller 
purpose  to  sustain  you,  so  far  as,  in  my  most  anxious  judgment, 
I  consistently  can.  But  you  must  act. 

Yours,  very  truly,  A.  LINCOLN. 

Major-General 


But  it  was  only  in  the  movement  upon  Richmond  that 
there  was  delay  and  defeat,  if  not  disaster,  in  the  field. 
In  all  other  quarters,  and  under  all  other  generals,  the 
National  armies  achieved  victory,  and  attained  substan 
tial  success.  Grant  had  captured  Fort  Donelson  and  the 
army  by  which  it  was  defended,  Missouri  had  been  cleared 
of  rebels,  Fort  Pulaski  had  fallen.  Island  No.  10,  Mem 
phis  and  Nashville  had  been  taken,  and  the  signal  vic 
tory  of  Pittsburg  Landing  had  been  won.  Upon  occa 
sion  of  the  latter  success,  Mr.  Lincoln  issued  the  fol 
lowing  (his  first)  almost  meek  and  humble 

PROCLAMATION    OF   THANKSGIVING. 

It  has  pleased  Almighty  God  to  vouchsafe  signal  victories  to 
the  land  and  naval  forces  engaged  in  suppressing  an  internal 
rebellion,  and  at  the  same  time  to  avert  from  our  country  the 
dangers  of  foreign  intervention  and  invasion. 

It  is  therefore  recommended  to  the  people  of  the  United 
States,  that  at  their  next  weekly  assemblages  in  their  accustomed 
places  of  public  worship,  which  shall  occur  after  the  notice  of 
this  Proclamation  shall  have  been  received,  they  especially 


THE  MAETYR'S  MONUMENT.  105 

acknowledge  and  render  thanks  to  our  Heavenly  Father  for 
these  inestimable  blessings ;  that  they  then  and  there  implore 
spiritual  consolation  in  behalf  of  all  those  who  have  been  brought 
into  affliction  by  the  casualties  and  calamities  of  sedition  and 
civil  war ;  and  that  they  reverently  invoke  the  Divine  guidance 
for  our  national  counsels,  to  the  end  that  they  may  speedily 
result  in  the  restoration  of  peace,  harmony,  and  unity  through 
out  our  borders,  and  hasten  the  establishment  of  fraternal  rela 
tions  among  all  the  countries  of  the  earth. 

In  witness  whereof  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand  and  caused 
the  seal  of  the  United  States  to  be  affixed. 
Done  at  the  city  of  Washington,  this  tenth  day  of  April,  in  the 

year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty- 
[L.  s.]  two,  and  of  the  independence  of  the  United  States  the 

eighty-sixth.  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

By  the  President : 
WM.  H.  SKWABD,  Secretary  of  State. 

ABOLITION   OF   SLAVERY  IN  THE  DISTRICT  OF   COLUMBIA. 

The  first  step  toward  the  abolition  of  slavery  elicited 
from  Mr.  Lincoln  the  following : 

MESSAGE. 

April  16, 1862. 

Fellow- Citizens  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives — The 
act  entitled  "  An  act  for  the  release  of  certain  persons  held  to 
service  or  labor  in  this  District  of  Columbia,"  has  this  day  been 
approved  and  signed. 

I  have  never  doubted  the  constitutional  authority  of  Congress 
to  abolish  slavery  in  this  District ;  and  I  have  ever  desired  to 
see  the  national  capital  freed  from  the  institution  in  some  satis 
factory  way.  Hence  there  has  never  been  in  my  mind  any  ques 
tion  upon  the  subject  except  the  one  of  expediency,  arising  in 
view  of  all  the  circumstances.  If  there  be  matters  within  and 
about  this  act  which  might  have  taken  a  course  or  shape  more 
satisfactory  to  my  judgment,  I  do  not  attempt  to  specify  them. 
I  am  gratified  that  the  two  principles  of  compensation  and  col 
onization  are  both  recognized  and  practically  applied  in  the  act. 


106 


In  the  matter  of  compensation,  it  is  provided  that  claims  may 
be  presented  within  ninety  days  from  the  passage  of  the  act, 
"  but  not  thereafter;"  and  there  is  no  saving  for  minors,  femmes 
covert,  insane,  or  absent  persons.  I  presume  this  is  an  omission 
by  mere  oversight,  and  I  recommend  that  it  be  supplied  by  an 
amendatory  or  supplemental  act.  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

GENERAL   HUNTER'S   DECLARATION   OF   FREEDOM. 

On  the  9th  of  May,  18G2,  General  Hunter,  in  com 
mand  of  the  Department  of  the  South,  issued  another  of 
those  precipitate  and  unauthorized  orders  upon  the  sub 
ject  of  slavery,  which  embarrassed '  Mr.  Lincoln  so  much 
in  the  early  part  of  his  administration.  He  boldly  de 
clared  that  order  null,  thereby  provoking  the  censure  of 
the  extreme  abolitionists,  in  the  following 

PROCLAMATION. 

Wliweas,  There  appears  in  the  public  prints  what  purports 
to  be  a  proclamation  of  Major-General  Hunter,  in  the  words  and 
figures  following: 

HEADQUARTERS  DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  SOUTH,  \ 

UII.TOX  HEAD,  S.  C.,  May  9,  1862.  f 

General  Order,  No.  11. 

The  three  States  of  Georgia,  Florida,  and  South  Carolina, 
comprising  the  Military  Department  of  the  South,  having  de 
liberately  declared  themselves  no  longer  under  the  United  States 
of  America,  and  having  taken  up  arms  against  the  United  States, 
it  becomes  a  military  necessity  to  declare  them  under  martial 
law. 

This  was  accordingly  done  on  the  25th  day  of  April,  1862. 
Slavery  and  martial  law  in  a  free  country  are  altogether  incom 
patible.  The  persons  in  these  States — Georgia,  Florida,  and 
South  Carolina — heretofore  held  as  slaves,  are  therefore  declared 

forever  free. 

Signed,  DAVID  HUNTER, 

[OFFICIAL.]  Major-General  Commanding. 

ED.  W.  SMITH,  Acting  Assistant  Adjutant-General. 


THE  MAKTYR'S  MONUMENT.  107 

And,  wliereas,  the  same  is  producing  some  excitement  and 
misunderstanding,  therefore  I,  Abraham  Lincoln,  President  of 
the  United  States,  proclaim  and  declare  that  the  Government  of 
the  United  States  had  no  knowledge  or  belief  of  an  intention  on 
the  part  of  General  Hunter  to  issue  such  proclamation,  nor  has 
it  yet  any  authentic  information  that  the  document  is  genuine ; 
and,  further,  that  neither  General  Hunter  nor  any  other  com 
mander  or  person  has  been  authorized  by  the  Government  of 
the  United  States  to  make  proclamation  declaring  the  slaves  of 
any  State  free,  and  that  the  supposed  proclamation  now  in 
question,  whether  genuine  or  false,  is  altogether  void  so  far  as 
respects  such  declaration.  I  further  make  known  that,  whether 
it  be  competent  for  me,  as  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  Army  and 
Navy,  to  declare  the  slaves  of  any  State  or  States  free ;  and 
whether  at  any  time,  or  in  any  case,  it  shall  have  become  a 
necessity  indispensable  to  the  maintenance  of  the  Government 
to  exercise  such  supposed  power,  are  questions  which,  under 
my  responsibility,  I  reserve  to  myself,  and  which  I  cannot  feel 
justified  in  leaving  to  the  decision  of  commanders  in  the  field. 

These  are  totally  different  questions  from  those  of  police  regu 
lations  in  armies  or  in  camps. 

On  the  sixth  day  of  March  last,  by  a  special  Message,  I  recom 
mended  to  Congress  the  adoption  of  a  joint  resolution,  to  be 
substantially  as  follows : 

Resolved,  That  the  United  States  ought  to  co-operate  with 
any  State  which  may  adopt  a  gradual  abolishment  of  slavery, 
giving  to  such  State  earnest  expression  to  compensate  for  its 
inconveniences,  public  and  private,  produced  by  such  change  of 
system. 

The  resolution  in  the  language  above  quoted  was  adopted  by 
large  majorities  in  both  branches  of  Congress,  and  now  stands 
an  authentic,  definite,  and  solem  proposal  of  the  Nation  to  the 
States  and  people  most  interested  in  the  subject  matter.  To 
the  people  of  these  States  now,  I  mostly  appeal.  I  do  not  argue 
— I  beseech  you  to  make  the  arguments  for  yourselves.  You 
cannot,  if  you  would,  be  blind  to  the  signs  of  the  times. 

I  beg  of  you  a  calm  and  enlarged  consideration  of  them,  rang 
ing,  if  it  may  be,  far  above  partisan  and  personal  politics. 


108  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

This  proposal  makes  common  cause  for  a  common  object,  cast 
ing  no  reproaches  upon  any.  It  acts  not  the  Pharisee.  The 
changes  it  contemplates  would  come  gently  as  the  dews  of 
Heaven,  not  rending  or  wrecking  anything.  Will  you  not 
embrace  it  ?  So  much  good  has  not  been  done  by  one  effort  in 
all  past  time,  as  in  the  Providence  of  God  it  is  now  your  high 
privilege  to  do.  May  the  vast  future  not  have  to  lament  that 
you  have  neglected  it. 

In  witness  whereof,  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand  and  caused 
the  seal  of  the  United  States  to  be  hereunto  affixed. 

Done  at  the  city  of  Washington,  this  19th  day  of  May,  in  the 
year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty- 
two,  and  of  the  independence  of  the  United  States  the 
eighty-sixth. 

Signed,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

,By  the  President  : 

WILLIAM  H.  SEWABD,  Secretary  of  State. 

THE   M'CLELLAN   AFFAIR. 

Chief  among  the  President's  sources  of  personal  annoy 
ance,  as  well  as  of  grave  concern,  were  the  difficulties 
constantly  occurring  between  General  McClellan  and  the 
War  Department,  and  between  the  Commander-in-Chief 
and  his  Generals  of  Corps  and  Division;  all  occurring, 
too,  while  the  failure  of  General  McClellan  to  make  any 
effective  movement  made  the  country  sick  at  heart.  The 
following  letters  on  this  subject,  like  most  of  Mr.  Lincoln's 
writings,  fully  explain  themselves. 

The  first  refers  to  General  McClellan's  complaints  as  to 
the  re-organization  of  the  army  into  corps,  and  to  his 
favoritism,  which  excited  much  ill-feeling. 


MONROE,  May  9,  1S65. 

MY  DEAR  Sm:  —  I  have  just  assisted  the  Secretary  of  War 
in  forming  the  part  of  a  dispatch  to  you,  relating  to  army  corps, 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  109 

which  dispatch,  of  course,  will  have  reached  you  long  before 
this  will.  I  wish  to  say  a  few  words  to  you  privately  on  this 
subject.  I  ordered  the  army  corps  organization  not  only  on  the 
unanimous  opinion  of  the  twelve  generals  of  division,  but  also 
on  the  unanimous  opinion  of  every  military  man  I  could  get  an 
opinion  from,  and  every  modern  military  book,  yourself  only 
excepted.  Of  course  I  did  not  on  my  own  judgment  pretend 
to  understand  the  subject.  I  now  think  it  indispensable  for 
you  to  know  how  your  struggle  against  it  is  received  in  quar 
ters  which  we  can  not  entirely  disregard.  It  is  looked  upon  as 
merely  an  effort  to  pamper  one  or  two  pets,  and  to  persecute 
and  degrade  their  supposed  rivals.  I  have  had  no  word  from 
Suinner,  Heintzelman  and  Keyes.  The  commanders  of  these 
corps  are  of  course  the  three  highest  officers  with  you,  but  I 
am  constantly  told  that  you  have  no  consultation  or  communi 
cation  with  them,  that  you  consult  and  communicate  with 
nobody  but  Fitz  John  Porter,  and  perhaps  General  Franklin. 
I  do  not  say  these  complaints  are  true  or  just ;  but,  at  all 
events,  it  is  proper  you  should  know  of  their  existence.  Do 
the  commanders  of  corps  disobey  your  orders  in  anything  ? 

When  you  relieved  General  Hamilton  of  his  command  the 
other  day,  you  thereby  lost  the  confidence  of  at  least  one  of  your 
best  friends  in  the  Senate.  And  here  let  me  say,  not  as  appli 
cable  to  you  personally,  that  Senators  and  Representatives  speak 
of  me  in  their  places  as  they  please  without  question  ;  and  that 
officers  of  the  army  must  cease  addressing  insulting  letters  to 
them  for  taking  no  greater  liberty  with  them.  But  to  return, 
are  you  strong  enough,  even  with  my  help,  to  set  your  foot 
upon  the  neck  of  Sumner,  Heintzelman  and  Keyes,  all  at  once  ? 
This  is  a  practical  and  very  serious  question  to  you. 

Yours  truly,  A.  LINCOLN. 

Mjyor-General  G.  B.  MCCLKLLAN. 

The  following  letter  was  elicited  by  General  McClel- 
lan's  complaints  that  he  feared  he  had  not  men  enough  to 
meet  the  overwhelming  force  of  the  rebels,  and  that  Gen 
eral  McDowell,  who  had  been  ordered  to  co-operate  with 
him.  was  not  sufficiently  under  his  orders. 


110 


WASHINGTON,  May  24, 1865. 

I  left  General  McDowell's  camp  at  dark  last  evening.  Shields' 
command  is  there,  but  it  is  so  worn  that  he  can  not  move  before 
Monday  morning,  the  26th.  We  have  so  thinned  our  line  to  get 
troops  for  other  places,  that  it  was  broken  yesterday  at  Front 
Royal,  with  a  probable  loss  to  us  of  one  regiment  infantry,  two 
companies  cavalry,  putting  General  Banks  in  some  peril. 

The  enemy's  forces,  under  General  Anderson,  now  opposing 
General  McDowell's  advance,  have,  as  their  line  of  supply  and 
retreat,  the  road  to  Richmond. 

If,  in  conjunction  with  McDowell's  movement  against  Ander 
son,  you  could  send  a  force  from  your  right  to  cut  off  the  ene 
my's  supplies  from  Richmond,  preserve  the  railroad  bridge 
across  the  two  forks  of  the  Pamunky,  and  intercept  the  enemy's 
retreat,  you  will  prevent  the  army  now  opposing  you  from 
receiving  an  accession  of  numbers  of  nearly  15,000  men ;  and 
if  you  succeed  in  saving  the  bridges,  you  will  secure  a  line  of 
railroad  for  supplies  in  addition  to  the  one  you  now  have.  Can 
you  not  do  this  almost  as  well  as  not,  while  you  are  building 
the  Chickahoniiny  bridges  ?  McDowell  and  Shields  both  say 
they  can,  and  positively  will,  move  Monday  morning.  I  wish 
you  to  move  cautiously  and  safely. 

You  will  have  command  of  McDoicell,  after  he  joins  you,  pre 
cisely  as  you  indicated  in  your  long  dispatch  to  us  of  the  21st. 

A.  LINCOLN,  President. 

Major-General  MC(JLELLAN. 

The  peril  in  which  General  Banks  was  placed  by 
Stonewall  Jackson's  march  up  the  Shenandoah  made  it 
necessary  to  send  General  McDowell  to  his  support. 
Against  this  General  McClellan  remonstrated,  and  received 
in  answer  the  following  letter  from  the  President : 

WASHINGTON,  May  25, 1865. 

Your  dispatch  received.  General  Banks  was  at  Strasburg 
with  about  6,000  men,  Shields  having  been  taken  from  him  to 
swell  a  column  for  McDowell  to  aid  you  at  Richmond,  and  the 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.       Ill 

rest  of  his  force  scattered  at  various  places.  On  the  23d,  a 
force  of  7,000  to  10,000  fell  upon  one  regiment  and  two  compa 
nies  guarding  the  bridge  at  Port  Royal,  destroying  it  entirely; 
crossed  the  Shenandoah,  and  on  the  24th,  yesterday,  pushed  on 
to  get  north  of  Banks  on  the  road  to  Winchester.  General 
Banks  ran  a  race  "with  them,  beating  them  into  Winchester  yes 
terday  evening.  This  morning  a  battle  ensued  between  the  two 
forces,  in  which  General  Banks  was  beaten  back  into  full  retreat 
toward  Martinsburg,  and  probably  is  broken  up  into  a  total 
rout.  Geary,  on  the  Manassas  Gap  Railroad,  just  now  reports 
that  Jackson  is  now  near  Front  Royal  with  10,000  troops,  fol 
lowing  up  and  supporting,  as  I  understand,  the  force  now 
pursuing  Banks.  Also,  that  another  force  of  ten  thousand  is 
near  Orleans,  following  on  in  the  same  direction.  Stripped 
bare,  as  we  are  here,  I  will  do  all  we  can  to  prevent  them  cross 
ing  the  Potomac  at  Harper's  Ferry  or  above.  McDowell  has 
about  twenty  thousand  of  his  forces  moving  back  to  the  vicinity 
of  Port  Royal,  and  Fremont,  who  was  at  Franklin,  is  moving  to 
Harrisonburg,  both  these  movements  intended  to  get  in  the 
enemy's  rear. 

One  more  of  McDowell's  brigades  is  ordered  through  here  to 
Harper's  Ferry ;  the  rest  of  his  forces  remain  for  the  present  at 
Fredericksburg.  We  are  sending  such  regiments  and  dribs 
from  here  and  Baltimore  as  we  can  spare  to  Harper's  Ferry, 
supplying  their  places  in  some  sort,  calling  in  militia  from  the 
adjacent  States.  We  also  have  eighteen  cannon  on  the  road  to 
Harper's  Ferry,  of  which  arm  there  is  not  one  at  that  point. 
This  is  now  our  situation. 

If  McDowell's  force  was  now  beyond  our  reach,  we  should  fie 
entirely  helpless.  Apprehensions  of  something  like  this,  and  no 
unwillingness  to  sustain  you,  has  always  teen  my  reason  for  with 
holding  McDowell's  forces  from  you. 

Please  understand  this  and  do  the  best  you  can  with  the  forces 

vou  have. 

A.  LINCOLN,  President. 

Major-General  MCCLELLAN. 

The  following  dispatch,  sent  within  a  few  hours  of  the 
former,  probably  convinced  General  McClellan  that  Mr. 


112       THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

Lincoln  had  some  reason  on  his  side,  as  the  whole  coun 
try  soon  discovered. 

WASHINGTON,  May  25,  1862—2  p.  M. 

The  enemy  is  moving  north  in  sufficient  force  to  drive  Gene 
ral  Banks  before  him ;  precisely  in  what  force  we  cannot  tell. 
He  is  also  threatening  Leesburg  and  Geary  on  the  Manasses 
Gap  Railroad,  from  both  north  and  south  ;  in  precisely  what 
force  we  cannot  tell.  I  think  the  movement  is  a  general  and 
concerted  one.  Such  as  would  not  be  if  he  was  acting  upon 
the  purpose  of  a  very  desperate  defence  of  Richmond.  I  think 
the  time  is  near  wThen  you  must  either  attack  Richmond  or 
give  up  the  job,  and  come  to  the  defence  of  Washington.  Let 
me  hear  from  you  instantly. 

A.  LINCOLN. 

One  little  exhibition  of  promptitude,  followed  by  suc 
cess,  is  to  be  credited  to  General  McClellan  about  this 
time.  He  sent  General  Fitz  John  Porter  to  operate 
against  a  part  of  the  rebel  force  which  threatened  Gene 
ral  McDowell  near  Hanover  Court  House.  Porter 
drove  the  enemy  from  his  position.  Of  this  creditable 
but  comparatively  small  affair  General  McClellan  made 
so  much  as  to  elicit  the  following  somewhat  ironical 
expression  of  gratitude  from  the  long-suffering,  good- 
natured  President. 

WASHINGTON,  May  28,  1862. 

I  am  very  glad  of  General  F.  J.  Porter's  victory ;  still,  if  it 
was  a  total  rout  of  the  enemy,  I  am  puzzled  to  know  why  the 
Richmond  and  Fredericksburg  Railroad  was  not  seized  again, 
as  you  say  you  have  all  the  railroads  but  the  Richmond  and 
Fredericksburg.  I  am  puzzled  to  see  how,  lacking  that,  you 
can  have  any,  except  the  scrap  from  Richmond  to  West  Point. 
The  scrap  of  the  Virginia  Central,  from  Richmond  to  Hanover 
Junction,  without  more,  is  simply  nothing.  That  the  whole 
of  the  enemy  is  concentrating  on  Richmond,  I  think,  cannot  be 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  113 

certainly  known  to  you  or  me.  Saxton,  at  Harper's  Ferry  ? 
informs  us  that  large  forces,  supposed  to  be  Jackson's  and 
Ewell's,  forced  his  advance  from  Charlestown  to-day.  General 
King  telegraphs  us  from  Fredericksburg  that  contrabands  give 
certain  information  that  fifteen  hundred  left  Hanover  Junction 
Monday  morning  to  reinforce  Jackson.  I  am  painfully  im 
pressed  with  the  importance  of  the  struggle  before  you,  and  shall 
aid  you  all  I  can  consistently  with  my  view  of  the  due  regard 
to  all  points. 

A.  LINCOLN. 

Major-General  MCCLELLAN. 

THE    CAMERON   AND    CUMMINGS   AFFAIR. 

On  the  30th  of  April,  1862,  the  House  of  Represen 
tatives  passed  a  vote  of  censure  upon  Simon  Cameron, 
Mr.  Lincoln's  first  Secretary  of  War,  (who  had  then 
been  succeeded  by  Mr.  Stanton.)  for  employing  a  Mr. 
Alexander  Cummings  of  Philadelphia,  then  residing  in 
New  York,  to  purchase  with  public  money  placed  at  his  un 
restrained  disposal,  supplies  for  troops  and  armed  vessels. 
The  action  of  the  House  brought  out  the  following  very 
interesting  and  honorable  Message  from  Mr.  Lincoln. 
Mr.  Cummings  was  much  blamed  and  ridiculed  in  con 
nection  with  this  affair,  but  very  unjustly.  It  proved 
that  he  committed  no  error  whatever,  except  some  trifling 
mistakes  due  to  inexperience ;  and  the  President  assumed 
the  responsibility  of  the  whole  affair. 

To  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives, — The  insurrection 
which  is  yet  existing  in  the  United  States,  and  aims  at  the 
overthrow  of  the  Federal  Constitution  and  the  Union,  was 
clandestinely  prepared  during  the  winter  of  1860  and  1861, 
and  assumed  an  open  organization  in  the  form  of  a  treasonable 
provisional  government  at  Montgomery,  Alabama,  on  the 
eighteenth  day  of  February,  1861.  On  the  twelfth  day  of 


114  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

April,  1861,  the  insurgents  committed  the  flagrant  act  of  civil 
war  by  the  bombardment  and  capture  of  Fort  Sumtcr,  which 
cut  off  the  hope  of  immediate  conciliation.     Immediately  after 
wards  all  the  roads  and  avenues  to  this  city  were  obstructed, 
and  the  capital  was  put  into  the  condition  of  a  siege.     The 
mails  in  every  direction  were  stopped  and  the  lines  of  telegraph 
cut  off  by  the  insurgents,  and  military  and  naval  forces  which 
had  been  called  out  by  the  Government  for  the  defence  of 
Washington  were  prevented  from  reaching  the  city  by  organized 
and  combined  treasonable  resistance  in  the  State  of  Maryland. 
There  was  no  adequate  and  effective  organization  for  the  public 
defence.     Congress  had  indefinitely  adjourned.     There  was  no 
time  to  convene  them.     It  became  necessary  for  me  to  choose 
whether,  using  only  the  existing  means,  agencies,  and  processes 
which  Congress  had  provided,  I  should  let  the  government  fall 
into  ruin,  or  whether,  availing  myself  of  the  broader  powers 
conferred  by  the  Constitution  in  cases  of  insurrection,  I  would 
make  an  effort  to  save  it,  with  all  its  blessings,  for  the  present 
age  and  for  posterity.     I  thereupon  summoned  my  constitutional 
advisers,  the  heads  of  all  the  departments,  to  meet  on  Sunday, 
the  twentieth  day  of  April,  1861,  at  the  office  of  the   Navy 
Department,  and  then  and  there,  with  their  unanimous  concur 
rence,  I  directed  that  and  armed  revenue  cutter  should  proceed 
to  sea  to  afford  protection  to  the  commercial  marine,  especially 
to  the  California  treasure-ships,  then  on  their  way  to  this  coast. 
I  also  directed  the  Commandant  of  the  Navy  Yard  at  Boston 
to  purchase  or  charter,  and  arm,  as  quickly  as  possible,  five 
steamships  for  purposes   of  public   defence.     I  directed  the 
the  Commandant  of  the  Navy  Yard  at  Philadelphia  to  purchase 
or  charter  and  arm  an  equal  number  for  the  same  purpose.     I 
directed  the  Commandant  at  New  York  to  purchase  or  charter, 
and  arm  an  equal  number.     I  directed  Commander  Gillis  to 
purchase  or  charter,  and  arm  and  put  to  sea  two  other  vessels. 
Similar  directions  were  given  to  Commodore  Dupont,  with  a 
view  to  the  opening  of  passages  by  water  to  and   from   the 
capital.     I  directed  the  several  officers  to  take  the  advice  and 
obtain  the  efficient  services  in  the  matter  of  his  Excellency 
Edwin  D.  Morgan,  the  Governor  of  New  York,  or,  in  his  absence, 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  115 

George  D.  Morgan,  Wm.  M.  Evarts,  R.  M.  Blatchford,  and 
Moaas  H.  Grinnell,  who  were,  by  my  directions,  especially  em 
powered  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  to  act  for  his  department 
in  that  crisis,  in  matters  pertaining  to  the  forwarding  of  troops 
and  supplies  for  the  public  defence. 

On  the  same  occasion  I  directed  that  Governor  Morgan  and 
Alexander  Cummings,  of  the  city  of  New  York,  should  be  author 
ized  by  the  Secretary  of  War,  Simon  Cameron,  to  make  all 
necessary  arrangements  for  the  transportation  of  troops  and  mu 
nitions  of  war  in  aid  and  assistance  of  the  officers  of  the  army 
of  the  United  States,  until  communication  by  mails  and  tele 
graph  should  be  completely  re-established  between  the  cities  of 
Washington  and  New  York.  No  security  was  required  to  be 
given  by  them,  and  either  of  them  was  authorized  to  act  in  case 
of  inability  to  consult  with  the  other.  On  the  same  occasion  I 
authorized  and  directed  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to  ad 
vance,  without  requiring  security,  two  millions  of  dollars  of 
public  money  to  John  A.  Dix,  George  Opdyke,  and  Richard  M. 
Blatchford,  of  New  York,  to  be  used  by  them  in  meeting  such 
requisitions  as  should  be  directly  consequent  upon  the  military 
and  naval  measures  for  the  defence  and  support  of  the  Govern 
ment,  requiring  them  only  to  act  without  compensation,  and  to 
report  their  transactions  when  duly  called  upon.  The  several 
departments  of  the  Government  at  that  time  contained  so  large 
a  number  of  disloyal  persons  that  it  would  have  been  impossible 
to  provide  safely  through  official  agents  only,  for  the  perform 
ance  of  the  duties  thus  confided  to  citizens  favorably  known  for 
their  ability,  loyalty,  and  patriotism.  The  several  orders  issued 
upon  these  occurrences  were  transmitted  by  private  messengers, 
who  pursued  a  circuitous  way  to  the  seaboard  cities,  inland 
across  the  States  of  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio,  and  the  northern 
lakes.  I  believe  that  by  these  and  other  similar  measures  taken 
in  that  crisis,  some  of  which  were  without  any  authority  of  law, 
the  Government  was  saved  from  overthrow.  I  am  not  aware 
that  a  dollar  of  the  public  funds  thus  confided  without  authority 
of  law,  to  unofficial  persons,  was  either  lost  or  wasted,  although 
apprehensions  of  such  misdirections  occurred  to  me  as  objec 
tions  to  these  extraordinary  proceedings,  and  were  necessarily 


116  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

overruled.  I  recall  these  transactions  now  because  my  attention 
has  been  directed  to  a  resolution  which  was  passed  by  the 
House  of  Representatives  on  the  thirtieth  of  last  month,  which 
is  in  these  words : 

"Resolved,  That  Simon  Cameron,  late  Secretary  of  War,  by  in 
trusting  Alexander  Cummings  with  the  control  of  large  sums  ot 
the  public  money,  and  authority  to  purchase  military  supplies 
without  restriction,  without  requiring  from  him  any  guarantee 
for  the  faithful  performance  of  his  duties,  while  the  services  ot 
competent  public  officers  were  available,  and  by  involving  the 
Government  in  a  vast  number  of  contracts  with  persons  not 
legitimately  engaged  in  the  business  pertaining  to  the  subject 
matter  of  such  contracts,  especially  in  the  purchase  of  arms  for 
future  delivery,  has  adopted  a  policy  highly  injurious  to  the 
public  service,  and  deserves  the  censure  of  the  House." 

Congress  will  sec  that  I  should  be  wanting  in  candor  and  in 
justice  if  I  should  leave  the  censure  expressed  in  this  resolution 
to  rest  exclusively  or  chiefly  upon  Mr.  Cameron.  The  same 
sentiment  is  unanimously  entertained  by  the  heads  of  the  de 
partments,  who  participated  in  the  proceedings  which  the  House 
of  Representatives  has  censured.  It  is  due  to  Mr.  Cameron  to 
say  that  although  he  fully  approved  the  proceedings,  they  were 
not  moved  nor  suggested  by  himself,  and  that  not  only  the 
President,  but  all  the  other  heads  of  departments  were  at  least 
equally  responsible  with  him  for  whatever  error,  wrong  or  fault 
was  committed  in  the  premises.  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

GENERAL   M<CLELLAN'S   CHANGE    OF   BASE. 

About  the  25th  of  June,  the  rebels,  apparently  weary 
of  waiting  for  General  McClellan  to  attack  them,  made 
up  their  minds  to  attack  him.  This  he  discovered,  and 
the  War  Department  had  discovered  it  before  him. 
They  concentrated  an  overwhelming  force  upon  his  right 
wing,  just  as  he  was  about  to  withdraw  it  from  Games' 
Mill,  drove  it  back,  and  followed  it  across  the  peninsula 


THE  MARTYR'S   MONUMENT.  117 

in  that  dreadful  series  of  battles  ending  with  a  complete 
defeat  for  them  at  Malvern  Hill,  which  the  country  re 
members  so  well  under  the  name  of  the  Seven  Days' 
Battles.  The  following  four  letters  addressed  to  General 
McClellan,  tell  the  story  of  that  movement  almost  as 
well  as  a  detailed  description  : 

WASHINGTON,  June  26, 1862. 

Your  three  dispatches  of  yesterday  in  relation  to  the  advance 
of  your  picket  lines,  ending  with  the  statement  that  you  com 
pletely  succeeded  in  making  your  point,  are  very  gratifying. 
The  later  one,  suggesting  the  probability  of  your  being  over 
whelmed  by  200,000  men,  and  talking  of  to  whom  the  responsi 
bility  will  belong,  pains  me  very  much.  I  give  you  all  I  can, 
and  act  on  the  presumption  that  you  will  do  the  best  you  can 
with  what  you  have ;  while  you  continue,  ungenerously  I  think, 
to  assume  that  I  could  give  you  more  if  I  would.  I  have  omit 
ted — I  shall  omit — no  opportunity  to  send  you  reinforcements 
whenever  I  can.  A.  LINCOLN. 

WASHINGTON.  June  28,  1862. 

Save  your  army  at  all  events.  Will  send  reinforcements  as 
fast  as  we  can.  Of  course  they  cannot  reach  you  to-day,  to-mor 
row,  or  next  day.  I  have  not  said  you  were  ungenerous  for 
saying  you  needed  reinforcements ;  I  thought  you  were  ungener 
ous  in  assuming  that  I  did  not  send  them  as  fast  as  I  could.  I 
feel  any  misfortune  to  you  and  your  army  quite  as  keenly  as 
you  feel  it  yourself.  If  you  have  had  a  drawn  battle  or  a  repulse, 
it  is  the  price  we  pay  for  the  enemy  not  being  in  Washington. 
We  protected  Washington,  and  the  enemy  concentrated  on  you. 
Had  we  stripped  Washington,  he  would  have  been  upon  us  be 
fore  the  troops  sent  could  have  got  to  you.  Less  than  a  week 
ago  you  notified  us  that  reinforcements  were  leaving  Richmond 
to  come  in  front  of  us.  It  is  the  nature  of  the  case,  and  neither 
you  nor  the  Government  is  to  blame.  A.  LINCOLN. 

WASHINGTON,  July  1, 1S62,— 3.80  p.  M. 

It  is  impossible  to  reinforce  you  for  your  present  emergency. 
If  we  had  a  million  of  men  we  could  not  get  them  to  you  in 


118  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

time.  We  have  not  the  men  to  send.  If  you  are  not  strong 
enough  to  face  the  enemy,  you  must  find  a  place  of  security, 
and  wait,  rest,  and  repair.  Maintain  your  ground  if  you  can, 
but  save  the  army  at  all  events,  even  if  you  fall  back  to  Fort 
Monroe.  We  still  have  strength  enough  in  the  country,  and 
will  bring  it  out.  A.  LINCOLN. 

Major-General  G-.  B.  MCCLELLAN. 

WASHINGTON,  July  2,  1862. 

Your  despatch  of  yesterday  induces  me  to  hope  that  your 
army  is  having  some  rest.  In  this  hope,  allow  me  to  reason 
with  you  for  a  moment.  When  you  ask  for  50,000  men  to  be 
promptly  sent  you,  you  surely  labor  under  some  gross  mistake 
of  fact.  Recently  you  sent  papers  showing  your  disposal  of 
forces  made  last  spring  for  the  defence  of  Washington,  and  ad 
vising  a  return  to  that  plan.  I  find  it  included  in  and  about 
Washington  75,000  men.  Now,  please  be  assured  that  I  have 
not  men  enough  to  fill  that  very  plan  by  15,000.  All  of  Gen 
eral  Fremont's  in  the  Valley,  all  of  General  Banks's,  all  of  Gen 
eral  McDowell's  not  with  you,  and  all  in  Washington  taken 
together,  do  not  exceed,  if  they  reach,  60,000.  With  General 
Wool  and  General  Dix  added  to  those  mentioned,  I  have  not 
outside  of  your  army,  75,000  men  east  of  the  mountains.  Thus, 
the  idea  of  sending  you  50,000,  or  any  other  considerable  forces 
promptly,  is  simply  absurd.  If  in  your  frequent  mention  of 
responsibility  you  have  the  impression  that  I  blame  you  for  not 
doing  more  than  you  can,  please  be  relieved  of  such  impression. 
I  only  beg,  that  in  like  manner,  you  will  not  ask  impossibilities 
of  me.  If  you  think  you  are  not  strong  enough  to  take  Rich 
mond  just  now,  I  do  not  ask  you  to  try  just  now.  Save  the 
army,  material,  and  personnel,  and  I  will  strengthen  it  for  the 
offensive  again  as  fast  as  I  can.  The  governors  of  eighteen 
States  offer  me  a  new  levy  of  300,000,  which  I  accept. 

A.  LINCOLN. 

WAR  DEPARTMENT,  WASHINGTON  CITY,  July  4, 1S62. 

I  understand  your  position  as  stated  in  your  letter,  and  by 
General  Marcy.  To  reinforce  you  so  as  to  enable  you  to  resume 
the  offensive  within  a  month,  or  even  six  weeks,  is  impossible.  In 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  119 

addition  to  that  arrived  and  now  arriving  from  the  Potomac  (about 
ten  thousand  men,  I  suppose),  and  about  ten  thousand,  I  nope,  you 
•will  have  from  Buraside  very  soon,  and  about  five  thousand 
from  Hunter  a  little  later,  I  do  not  see  how  I  can  send  you 
another  man  within  a  month.  Under  these  circumstances,  the 
defensive,  for  the  present,  must  be  your  only  care.  Save  the 
army,  first,  where  you  are,  if  you  can ;  and  secondly,  by  remo 
val,  if  you  must.  You,  on  the  ground,  must  be  the  judge  as  to 
which  you  will  attempt,  and  of  the  means  for  effecting  dt.  I 
but  give  it  as  my  opinion,  that  with  the  aid  of  the  gunboats 
and  the  reinforcements  mentioned  above,  you  can  hold  your 
present  position ;  provided,  and  so  long  as  you  can  keep  the 
James  River  open  below  you.  If  you  are  not  tolerably  confi 
dent  you  can  keep  the  James  River  open,  you  had  better  re 
move  as  soon  as  possible.  I  do  not  remember  that  you  have 
expressed  any  apprehension  as  to  the  danger  of  having  your 
communication  cut  on  the  river  below  you,  yet  I  do  not  sup 
pose  it  can  have  escaped  your  attention.  A.  LINCOLN. 

P.  S. — If  at  any  time  you  feel  able  to  take  the  ofFensiv,  you 
are  not  restrained  from  doing  so.  A.  I . 

SLAVERY   IN   THE    BORDER   STATES. 

Mr.  Lincoln's  message  advocating  the  gradual  emanci 
pation  of  slaves,  with  compensation  to  the  owners,  elicited 
no  response  from  the  leading  men  of  the  Border  Slave 
States.  Impressed  with  the  importance  of  this  subject, 
he  therefore  asked  the  Members  of  Congress  from  those 
States  to  meet  him  at  the  White  House,  on  the  12th  of 
July,  and  delivered  to  them  the  following 

ADDRESS. 

Gentlemen — After  the  adjournment  of  Congress,  now  near,  I 
shall  have  no  opportunity  of  seeing  you  for  several  months. 
Believing  that  you  of  the  Border  States  hold  more  power  for 
good  than  any  other  equal  number  of  members,  I  feel  it  a  duty 
which  I  cannot  justifiably  waive,  to  make  this  appeal  to  you. 


120  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

I  intend  no  reproach  or  complaint  when  I  assure  you  that,  in 
my  opinion,  if  you  all  had  voted  for  the  resolution  in  the  grad 
ual  emancipation  Message  of  last  March  the  war  would  now  be 
substantially  ended.  And  the  plan  therein  proposed  is  yet  one 
of  the  most  potent  and  swift  means  of  ending  it.  Let  the 
States  which  are  in  rebellion  see  definitely  and  certainly  that  in 
no  event  will  the  States  you  represent  ever  join  their  proposed 
Confederacy,  and  they  cannot  much  longer  maintain  the  contest. 
But  you  cannot  divest  them  of  their  hope  to  ultimately  have 
you  with  them  as  long  as  you  show  a  determination  to  perpetu 
ate  the  institution  within  your  own  States.  Beat  them  at  elec 
tions,  as  you  have  overwhelmingly  done,  and,  nothing  daunted, 
they  still  claim  you  as  their  own.  You  and  I  know  what  the 
lever  of  their  power  is.  Break  that  lever  before  their  faces,  and 
they  can  shake  you  no  more  forever. 

Most  of  you  have  treated  me  with  kindness  and  consideration, 
and  I  trust  you  will  not  now  think  I  improperly  touch  what  is 
exclusively  your  own,  when,  for  the  sake  of  the  whole  country, 
I  ask,  Can  you,  for  your  States,  do  better  than  to  take  the 
course  I  urge  ?  Discarding  punctilio  and  maxims  adapted  to 
more  manageable  times,  and  looking  only  to  the  unprecedently 
stern  facts  of  our  case,  can  you  do  better  in  any  possible  event  ? 
You  prefer  that  the  constitutional  relation  of  the  States  to  the 
nation  shall  be  practically  restored  without  disturbance  of  the 
institution  :  and  if  this  were  done,  my  whole  duty,  in  this  re 
spect,  under  the  Constitution  and  my  oath  of  office,  would  be 
performed.  But  it  is  not  done,  and  we  are  trying  to  accomplish 
it  by  war.  The  incidents  of  the  war  cannot  be  avoided.  If  the 
war  continues  long,  as  it  must  if  the  object  be  not  sooner  at 
tained,  the  institution  in  your  States  will  be  extinguished  by 
mere  friction  and  abrasion — by  the  mere  incidents  of  the  war. 
It  will  be  gone,  and  you  will  have  nothing  valuable  in  lieu  of 
it.  Much  of  its  value  is  gone  already.  How  much  better  for 
you  and  for  your  people  to  take  the  step  which  at  once  shortens 
the  war,  and  secures  substantial  compensation  for  that  which  is 
sure  to  be  wholly  lost  in  any  other  event !  How  much  better 
to  thus  save  the  money  which  else  we  sink  forever  in  the  war  I 
How  much  better  to  do  it  while  we  can,  lest  the  war  ere  long 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  121 

render  us  pecuniarily  unable  to  do  it !  How  much  better  for 
you,  as  seller,  and  the  nation,  as  buyer,  to  sell  out  and  buy  out 
that  without  which  the  war  never  could  have  been,  than  to  sink 
both  the  thing  to  be  sold  and  the  price  of  it  in  cutting  one 
another's  throats ! 

I  do  not  speak  of  emancipation  at  once,  but  of  a  decision  at 
once  to  emancipate  gradually.  Room  in  South  America  for 
colonization  can  be  obtained  cheaply,  and  in  abundance,  and 
when  numbers  shall  be  large  enough  to  be  company  and  encour 
agement  for  one  another,  the  freed  people  will  not  be  so  reluc 
tant  to  go. 

I  am  pressed  with  a  difficulty  not  yet  mentioned — one  -which 
threatens  division  among  those  who,  united,  are  none  too  strong. 
An  instance  of  it  is  known  to  you.  General  Hunter  is  an  honest 
man.  He  was,  and  I  hope  still  is,  my  friend.  I  valued  him 
none  the  less  for  his  agreeing  with  me  in  the  general  wish  that 
all  men  everywhere  could  be  free.  He  proclaimed  all  .men  free 
within  certain  States,  and  I  repudiated  the  proclamation.  He 
expected  more  good  and  less  harm  from  the  measure  than  I 
could  believe  would  follow.  Yet,  in  repudiating  it,  I  gave  dis 
satisfaction,  if  not  offence,  to  many  whose  support  the  country 
can  not  afford  to  lose.  And  this  is  not  the  end  of  it.  The 
pressure  in  this  direction  is  still  upon  me,  and  is  increasing. 
By  conceding  what  I  now  ask  you  can  relieve  me,  and  much 
more,  can  relieve  the  country  in  this  important  point. 

Upon  these  considerations  I  have  again  begged  your  attention 
to  the  Message  of  March  last.  Before  leaving  the  Capital,  con 
sider  and  discuss  it  among  yourselves.  You  are  patriots  and 
statesmen,  and  as  such  I  pray  you  consider  this  proposition; 
and  at  the  least  commend  it  to  the  consideration  of  your  States 
and  people.  As  you  would  perpetuate  popular  government  for 
the  best  people  in  the  world,  I  beseech  you  that  you  do  in 
nowise  omit  this.  Our  common  country  is  in  great  peril, 
demanding  the  loftiest  views  and  boldest  action  to  bring  a 
speedy  relief.  Once  relieved,  its  form  of  government  is  saved 
to  the  world ;  its  beloved  history  and  cherished  memories  are 
vindicated,  and  its  happy  future  fully  assured  and  rendered 
inconceivably  grand.  To  you,  more  than  to  any  others,  the  priv- 

6 


122 


ilege  is  given  to  assure  that  happiness  and  swell  that  grandeur 
and  to  link  your  own  names  therewith  forever. 

THE    CONFISCATION   BILL. 

On  the  same  day  of  the  delivery  of  the  foregoing  address 
Mr.  Lincoln  sent  the  following  Message  to  the  House  of 
Representatives  approving  the  Confiscation  Bill  which 
had  been  passed  by  that  body,  except  in  one  point,  to  which 
he  objected  as  being  unconstitutional. 

Fellow- Citizens  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives — 
Considering  the  bill  for  "  An  act  to  suppress  insurrection,  to 
punish  treason  and  rebellion,  to  seize  and  confiscate  the  property 
of  rebels,  and  for  other  purposes,"  and  the  joint  resolution 
explanatory  of  said  act  as  being  substantially  one,  I  have 
approved  and  signed  both. 

Before  I  was  informed  of  the  resolution,  I  had  prepared  the 
draft  of  a  message,  stating  objections  to  the  bill  becoming  a 
law,  a  copy  of  which  draft  is  herewith  submitted. 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

July  12, 1862. 

[Copy.] 

Fellow- Citizens  of  the  House  of  Representatiues — I  herewith 
return  to  the  honorable  body,  in  which  it  originated,  the  bill 
for  an  act  entitled  "An  act  to  suppress  treason  and  rebellion, 
to  seize  and  confiscate  the  property  of  rebels,  and  for  other  pur 
poses,"  together  with  my  objections  to  its  becoming  a  law. 

There  is  much  in  the  bill  to  which  I  perceive  no  objection. 
It  is  wholly  prospective;  and  it  touches  neither  person  nor 
property  of  any  loyal  citizen,  in  which  particular  it  is  just  and 
proper. 

The  first  and  second  sections  provide  for  the  conviction  and 
punishment  of  persons  who  shall  be  guilty  of  treason,  and  per 
sons  who  shall  "incite,  set  on  foot,  assist,  or  engage  in  any 
rebellion  or  insurrection  against  the  authority  of  the  United 
States,  or  the  laws  thereof,  or  shall  give  aid  or  comfort  thereto, 
or  shall  engage  in  or  give  aid  and  comfort  to  any  such  existing 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUVENT.  123 

rebellion  or  insurrection."  By  fair  construction,  persons  within 
those  sections  are  not  punished  without  regular  trials  in  duly 
constituted  courts,  under  the  forms  and  all  the  substantial  pro 
visions  of  law  and  the  Constitution  applicable  to  their  several 
cases.  To  this  I  perceive  no  objection ;  especially  as  such  per 
sons  would  be  within  the  general  pardoning  power,  and  also 
the  special  provision  for  pardon  and  amnesty  contained  in  this  act. 
It  is  also  provided  that  the  slaves  of  persons  convicted  under 
these  sections  shall  be  free.  I  think  there  is  an  unfortunate 
form  of  expression,  rather  than  a  substantial  objection,  in  this. 
It  is  startling  to  say  that  Congress  can  free  a  slave  within  a 
State,  and  yet,  if  it  were  said  the  ownership  of  a  slave  had  first 
been  transferred  to  the  nation,  and  Congress  had  then  liberated 
him,  the  difficulty  would  at  once  vanish.  And  this  is  the  real 
case.  The  traitor  against  the  General  Government  forfeits-  his 
slave  at  least  as  justly  as  he  does  any  other  property ;  and  he 
forfeits  both  to  the  Government  against  which  he  offends.  The 
Government,  so  far  as  there  can  be  ownership,  thus  owns  the 
forfeited  slaves,  and  the  question  for  Congress  in  regard  to  them 
is,  "  Shall  they  be  made  free  or  sold  to  new  masters  ?"  I  per 
ceive  no  objection  to  Congress  deciding  in  advance  that  they 
shall  be  free.  To  the  high  honor  of  Kentucky,  as  I  am  informed, 
she  is  the  owner  of  some  slaves  by  escheat,  and  has  sold  none, 
but  liberated  all.  I  hope  the  same  is  true  of  some  other  States. 
Indeed,  I  do  not  believe  it  will  be  physically  possible  for  the 
General  Government  to  return  persons  so  circumstanced  to 
actual  slavery.  I  believe  there  would  be  physical  resistance  to 
it,  which  could  neither  be  turned  aside  by  argument  nor  driven 
away  by  force.  In  this  view  I  have  no  objection  to  this  feature 
of  the  bill.  Another  matter  involved  in  these  two  sections, 
and  running  through  other  parts  of  the  act  will  be  noticed 
hereafter. 

I  perceive  no  objections  to  the  third  or  fourth  sections. 

So  far  as  I  wish  to  notice  the  fifth  and  sixth  sections,  they 
may  be  considered  together.  That  the  enforcement  of  these 
sections  would  do  no  injustice  to  the  persons  embraced  within 
them  is  clear.  That  those  who  make  a  causeless  war  should  be 
compelled  to  pay  the  cost  of  it  is  too  obviously  just  to  be  called 


124  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

in  question.  To  give  governmental  protection  to  the  property 
of  persons  who  have  abandoned  it,  and  gone  on  a  crusade  to 
overthrow  the  same  Government,  is  absurd,  if  considered  in  the 
mere  light  of  justice.  The  severest  justice  may  not  always  be 
the  best  policy.  The  principle  of  seizing  and  appropriating 
the  property  of  the  person  embraced  within  these  sections  is 
certainly  not  very  objectionable,  but  a  justly  discriminating 
application  of  it  would  be  very  difficult,  and,  to  a  great  extent, 
impossible.  And  would  it  not  be  wise  to  place  a  power  of 
remission  somewhere,  so  that  these  persons  may  know  they 
have  something  to  loose  by  persisting  and  something  to  gain  by 
desisting  ?  I  am  not  sure  whether  such  power  of  remission  is 
or  is  not  in  section  thirteen.  Without  any  special  act  of  Con 
gress,  I  think  our  military  commanders,  when,  in  military 
phrase,  "  they  are  within  the  enemy's  country,"  should,  in 
orderly  manner,  seize  and  use  whatever  of  real  or  per^nal 
property  may  be  necessary  or  convenient  for  their  commands ; 
at  the  same  time  preserving,  in  some  way,  the  evidence  of  what 
they  do. 

What  I  have  said  in  regard  to  slaves,  while  commenting  on 
the  first  and  second  sections,  is  applicable  to  the  ninth,  with 
the  difference  that  no  provision  is  made  in  the  whole  act  for 
determining  whether  a  particular  individual  slave  does  or  does 
not  fall  within  the  classes  defined  in  that  section.  He  is  to  be 
free  upon  certain  conditions ;  but  whether  those  conditions  do 
or  do  not  pertain  to  him,  no  mode  of  ascertaining  is  provided. 
This  could  be  easily  supplied. 

To  the  tenth  section  I  make  no  objection.  The  oath  therein 
required  seems  to  be  proper,  and  the  remainder  of  the  section 
is  substantially  identical  with  a  law  already  existing. 

The  eleventh  section  simply  assumes  to  confer  discretionary 
power  upon  the  Executive.  Without  the  law,  I  have  no  hesi 
tation  to  go  as  far  in  the  direction  indicated  as  I  may  at  any 
time  deem  expedient.  And  I  am  ready  to  say  now,  I  think 
it  is  proper  for  our  military  commanders  to  employ,  as  laborers, 
as  many  persons  of  African  descent  as  can  be  used  to  advan 
tage. 

The  twelfth  and  thirteenth  sections  are  something  better  than 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  125 

unobjectionable;  and  the  fourteenth  is  entirely  proper,  if  all 
other  parts  of  the  act  shall  stand. 

That  to  which  I  chiefly  object  pervades  most  part  of  the  Act, 
but  more  distinctly  appears  in  the  first,  second,  seventh  and 
eighth  sections.  It  is  the  sum  of  those  provisions  which  results 
in  the  divesting  of  title  forever. 

For  the  causes  of  treason  and  ingredients  of  treason,  not 
amounting  to  the  full  crime,  it  declares  forfeiture  extending  be 
yond  the  lives  of  the  guilty  parties ;  whereas  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States  declares  that  "  no  attainder  of  treason  shall 
work  corruption  of  blood  or  forfeiture  except  during  the  life 
of  the  person  attainted."  True,  there  is  to  be  no  formal  at 
tainder  in  this  case ;  still,  I  think,  the  greater  punishment  can 
not  be  constitutionally  inflicted,  in  a  different  form,  for  the 
same  offence. 

With  great  respect  I  am  constrained  to  say  I  think  this  fea 
ture  of  the  Act  is  unconstitutional.  It  would  not  be  difficult 
to  modify  it. 

I  may  remark  that  the  provision  of  the  Constitution,  put  in 
language  borrowed  from  Great  Britain,  applies  only  in  this 
country,  as  I  understand,  to  real  or  landed  estate. 

Again,  this  act,  in  rem,  forfeits  property  for  the  ingredients 
of  treason  without  a  conviction  of  the  supposed  criminal,  or  a 
personal  hearing  given  him  in  any  proceeding.  That  we  may 
not  touch  property  lying  within  our  reach,  because  we  cannot 
give  personal  notice  to  an  owner  who  is  absent  endeavoring  to 
destroy  the  Government,  is  certainly  satisfactory.  Still,  the 
owner  may  not  be  thus  engaged  ;  and  I  think  a  reasonable  time 
should  be  provided  for  such  parties  to  appear  and  have  personal 
healings.  Similar  provisions  are  not  uncommon  in  connection 
with  proceedings  in  rem. 

For  the  reasons  stated,  I  return  the  Bill  to  the  House  in  which 
it  originated. 

GENERAL   M'CLELLAN   AGAIN. 

Here  we  have  another  of  those  gentle,  but  firm  re 
proofs,  which  Mr.  Lincoln  was  continually  called  upon  to 
administer  to  General  McClellan. 


126       THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

EXECUTIVE  MANSION,  WASHINGTON,  July  18, 1862. 

My  Dear  Sir — I  am  to}d  that  over  160,000  men  have  gone 
with  your  army  on  the  Peninsula,  When  I  was  with  you  the 
other  day,  we  made  out  86,000  remaining,  leaving  78,500  to  be 
accounted  for.  I  believe  3,500  will  cover  all  the  killed, 
wounded,  missing,  in  all  your  battless  and  skirmishes,  leaving 
50,000  who  have  left  otherwise.  Not  more  than  5,000  of  these 
have  died,  leaving  45,000  of  your  army  still  alive,  and  not  with  it. 
I  believe  half  or  two-thirds  of  them  are  fit  for  duty  to-day. 
Have  you  any  more  perfect  knowledge  of  this  than  I  have  ?  If 
I  am  right,  and  you  had  these  men  with  you,  you  could  go  into 
Richmond  in  the  next  three  days.  How  can  they  be  got  to  you, 
and  how  can  they  be  prevented  from  getting  away  in  such  num 
bers  for  the  future  ?  A.  LINCOLN. 

COLONIZATION. 

It  was  yet  uncertain  whether  one  result  of  the  war 
•would  be  the  setting  free  of  all  the  slaves  in  the  country ; 
but  it  was  plain  enough  that  the  number  of  free  negroes 
in  the  South  would  be  enormously  increased  thereby.  The 
question  as  to  the  disposition  to  be  made  tf  these  eman 
cipated  slaves  was  one  of  much  difficulty.  Mr.  Lincoln 
bearing  in  mind  the  dislike  of  his  own  race  to  mingle  with 
the  negro  race  sociafiyand  politically,  favored  the  project 
of  a  vast  scheme  of  colonization.  This  he  broached  in 
an  address  to  a  deputation  of  negroes  whom  he  received 
at  the  White  House  on  the  14th  of  August,  1862. 

ADDRESS. 

Having  all  been  seated,  the  President,  after  a  few  preliminary 
observations,  informed  them  that  a  sum  of  money  had  been  ap 
propriated  by  Congress,  and  placed  at  his  disposition,  for  the 
purpose  of  aiding  the  colonization  in  some  country,  of  the  peo 
ple,  or  a  portion  of  them,  of  African  descent,  thereby  making 
it  his  duty,  as  it  had  for  a  long  time  been  his  inclination,  t  > 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  127 

favor  that  cause ;  and  why,  he  asked,  should  the  people  of  your 
race  be  colonized,  and  where  ?  Why  should  they  leave  this 
country  ?  This  is,  perhaps,  the  first  question  for  proper  con 
sideration.  You  and  we  are  different  races.  We  have  between 
us  a  broader  difference  than  exists  between  almost  any  other  two 
races.  Whether  it  is  right  or  wrong  I  need  not  discuss ;  but 
this  physical  difference  is  a  great  disadvantage  to  us  both,  as  I 
think.  Your  race  suffer  very  greatly,  many  of  them  by  living 
among  us,  wThile  ours  suffer  from  your  presence.  In  a  word  we 
suffer  on  each  side.  If  this  is  admitted,  it  affords  a  reason,  at 
least,  why  we  should  be  separated.  You  here  are  freemen,  I 
suppose. 

A  voice — Yes,  Sir. 

The  President — Perhaps  you  have  long  been  free,  or  all  your 
lives.  Your  race  are  suffering,  in  my  judgment,  the  greatest 
wrong  inflicted  on  any  people.  But  even  when  you  cease  to  be 
slaves,  you  are  yet  far  removed  from  being  placed  on  an  equali 
ty  with  the  white  race.  You  are  cut  off  from  many  of  the  ad 
vantages  which  the  other  race  enjoys.  The  aspiration  of  men 
is  to  enjoy  equality  with  the  best  when  free,  but  on  this  broad 
continent  not  a  single  man  of  your  race  is  made  the  equal  of  a 
single  man  of  ours.  Go  where  you  are  treated  the  best,  and  the 
ban  is  still  upon  you.  I  do  not  propose  to  discuss  this,  but  to 
present  it  as  a  fact,  with  which  wre  have  to  deal.  I  cannot  alter 
it  if  I  would.  It  is  a  fact  about  which  we  all  think  and  feel 
alike,  I  and  you.  We  look  to  our  condition.  Owing » to  the 
existence  of  the  two  races  on  this  continent,  I  need  not  recount 
to  you  the  effects  upon  white  men,  growing  out  of  the  institu 
tion  of  slavery.  I  believe  in  its  general  evil  on  the  white  race. 
See  our  present  condition — the  country  engaged  in  war !  our 
white  men  cutting  one  another's  throats — none  knowing  how 
far  it  will  extend — and  then  consider  what  we  know  to  be  the 
truth.  But  for  your  race  among  us  there  could  not  be  war, 
although  many  men  engaged  on  either  side  do  not  care  for  you 
one  way  or  the  other.  Nevertheless,  I  repeat,  without  the  insti 
tution  of  slavery,  and  the  colored  race  as  a  basis,  the  war  could 
not  have  an  existence.  It  is  better  for  us  both,  therefore,  to  be 
separated.  I  know  that  there  are  free  men  among  you  who, 


128  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

even  if  they  could  better  their  condition,  are  not  as  much  in 
clined  to  go  out  of  the  country  as  those  who,  being  slaves,  could 
obtain  their  freedom  on  this  condition.  I  suppose  one  of  the 
principal  difficulties  in  the  way  of  colonization  is  that  the  free 
colored  man  cannot  see  that  his  comfort  would  be  advanced  by 
it.  You  may  believe  that  you  can  live  in  Washington,  or  else 
where  in  the  United  States,  the  remainder  of  your  life ;  perhaps 
more  so  than  you  can  in  any  foreign  country,  and  hence  you 
may  coine  to  the  conclusion  that  you  have  nothing  to  do  with 
the  idea  of  going  to  a  foreign  country.  This  (I  speak  in  no 
unkind  sense)  is  an  extremely  selfish  view  of  the  case.  But  you 
ought  to  do  something  to  help  those  who  are  not  so  fortunate 
as  yourselves.  There  is  an  unwillingness  on  the  part  of  our  peo 
ple,  harsh  as  it  may  be,  for  you  free  colored  people  to  remain  with 
us.  Xow  if  you  could  give  a  start  to  the  white  people  you  would 
open  a  wide  door  for  many  to  be  made  free.  If  we  deal  with 
those  who  are  not  free  at  the  beginning,  and  whose  intellects  are 
clouded  by  slavery,  we  have  very  poor  material  to  start  with.  If 
intelligent  colored  men,  such  as  are  before  me,  would  move  in 
this  matter,  much  might  be  accomplished.  It  is  exceedingly 
important  that  we  have  men  at  the  beginning  capable  of  think 
ing  as  white  men,  and  not  those  who  have  been  systematically 
oppressed.  There  is  much  to  encourage  you.  For  the  sake  of 
your  race  you  should  sacrifice  something  of  your  present  com 
fort  for  the  purpose  of  being  as  grand  in  that  respect  as  the 
white  people.  It  is  a  cheering  thought  throughout  life,  that 
something  can  be  done  to  ameliorate  the  condition  of  those  who 
have  been  subject  to  the  hard  usages  of  the  world.  It  is  diffi 
cult  to  make  a  man  miserable  while  he  feels  he  is  worthy  of 
himself  and  claims  kindred  to  the  great  God  who  made  him. 
In  the  American  Revolutionary  AVar  sacrifices  were  made  by 
men  engaged  in  it,  but  they  were  cheered  by  the  future.  Gen 
eral  Washington  himself  endured  greater  physical  hardships  than 
if  he  had  remained  a  British  subject,  yet  he  was  a  happy  man 
because  he  was  engaged  in  benefiting  his  race ;  in  doing  some 
thing  for  the  children  of  his  neighbors,  having  none  of  his  own. 
The  colony  of  Liberia  has  been  in  existence  a  long  time.  In 
a  certain  sense,  it  is  a  success.  The  old  President  of  Liberia, 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  129 

Roberts,  has  just  been  with  me  for  the  first  time  I  ever  saw 
him.  He  says  they  have  within  the  bounds  of  that  colony 
between  three  and  four  hundred  thousand  people,  or  more  than 
in  some  of  our  old  States,  such  as  Rhode  Island  or  Delaware, 
or  in  some  of  our  newer  States,  and  less  than  in  some  of  our 
larger  ones.  They  are  not  all  American  colonists  or  their 
descendants.  Something  less  than  12,000  have  been  sent  thither 
from  this  country.  Many  of  the  original  settlers  have  died,  yet, 
like  people  elsewhere,  their  offspring  outnumber  those  deceased. 
The  question  is,  if  the  colored  people  are  persuaded  to  go  any 
where,  why  not  there  ?  One  reason  for  unwillingness  to  do  so 
is,  that  some  of  you  would  rather  remain  within  reach  of  the 
country  of  your  nativity.  I  do  not  know  how  much  attach 
ment  you  may  have  toward  our  race.  It  does  not  strike  me  that 
you  have  the  greatest  reason  to  love  them.  But  still  you  are 
attached  to  them  at  all  events.  The  place  I  am  thinking  about 
having  for  a  colony  is  in  Central  America.  It  is  nearer  to  us 
than  Liberia — not  much  more  than  one-fourth  as  far  as  Liberia, 
and  within  seven  days'  run  by  steamers.  Unlike  Liberia  it  is  a 
great  line  of  travel — it  is  a  highway.  The  country  is  a  very 
excellent  one  for  any  people,  and  with  great  natural  resources 
and  advantages,  and  especially  because  of  the  similarity  of  cli 
mate  with  your  native  soil,  thus  being  suited  to  your  physical 
condition.  The  particular  place  I  have  in  view,  is  to  be  a  great 
highway  from  the  Atlantic  or  Caribbean  Sea  to  the  Pacific 
Ocean,  and  this  particular  place  has  all  the  advantages  for  a 
colony.  On  both  sides  there  are  harbors  among  the  finest  in  the 
world.  Again,  there  is  evidence  of  very  rich  coal  mines.  A 
certain  amount  of  coal  is  valuable  in  any  country,  and  there 
may  be  more  than  enough  for  the  wants  of  any  country.  Why 
I  attach  so  much  importance  to  coal  is,  it  will  afford  an  oppor 
tunity  to  the  inhabitants  for  immediate  employment  till  they 
get  ready  to  settle  permanently  in  their  homes.  If  you  take 
colonists  where  there  is  no  good  landing,  there  is  a  bad  show ; 
and  so  where  there  is  nothing  to  cultivate,  and  of  which  to 
make  a  farm.  But  if  something  is  started  so  that  you  can  get 
your  daily  bread  as  soon  as  you  reach  there,  it  is  a  great  advan 
tage.  Coal  land  is  the  best  thing  I  know  of  with  which  to  com- 

6* 


130 


mence  an  enterprise.  To  return — you  have  been  talked  to 
upon  this  subject,  and  told  that  a  speculation  is  intended  by 
gentlemen  who  have  an  interest  in  the  country,  including  the 
coal  mines.  We  have  been  mistaken  all  our  lives  if  we  do  not 
know  whites,  as  well  as  blacks,  look  to  their  self-interest. 
Unless  among  those  deficient  of  intellect,  everybody  you  trade 
with  makes  something.  You  meet  with  these  things  here  and 
everywhere.  If  such  persons  have  what  will  be  an  advantage 
to  them,  the  question  is,  whether  it  can  be  made  of  advantage 
to  you  ?  You  are  intelligent  and  know  that  success  does  not 
as  much  depend  on  external  help  as  on  self-reliance.  Much, 
therefore,  depends  upon  yourselves.  As  to  the  coal  mines,  I 
think  I  see  the  means  available  for  your  self-reliance.  I  shall, 
if  I  get  a  sufficient  number  of  you  engaged,  have  provision 
made  that  you  shall  not  be  wronged.  If  you  will  engage  in  the 
enterprise  I  will  spend  some  of  the  money  intrusted  to  me.  I 
am  not  sure  you  will  succeed.  The  Government  may  lose  the 
money,  but  we  can  not  succeed  unless  we  try ;  but  we  think 
with  care  we  can  succeed.  The  political  affairs  in  Central 
America  are  not  in  quite  as  satisfactory  condition  as  I  wish. 
There  are  contending  factions  in  that  quarter ;  but  it  is  true, 
all  the  factions  are  agreed  alike  on  the  subject  of  colonization, 
and  want  it,  and  are  more  generous  than  we  are  here.  To  your 
colored  race  they  have  no  objection.  Besides,  I  would  endeavor 
to  have  you  made  equals,  and  have  the  best  assurance  that  you 
should  be  the  equals  of  the  best.  The  practical  thing  I  want 
to  ascertain  is,  whether  I  can  get  a  number  of  able-bodied  men, 
with  their  wives  and  children,  who  are  willing  to  go  when  I 
present  evidence  of  encouragement  and  protection.  Could  I 
get  a  hundred  tolerably  intelligent  men,  with  their  wives  and 
children,  and  able  to  "  cut  their  own  fodder,"  so  to  speak  ? 
Can  I  have  fifty  ?  If  I  could  find  twenty-five  able-bodied  men, 
with  a  mixture  of  women  and  children — good  things  in  the 
family  relation,  I  think — I  could  make  a  successful  commence 
ment.  I  want  you  to  let  me  know  whether  this  can  be  done  or 
not.  This  is  the  practical  part  of  my  wish  to  see  you.  These 
are  subjects  of  very  great  importance — worthy  of  a  mouth's 
study  of  a  speech  delivered  in  an  hour.  I  ask  you,  then,  to 


131 


consider  seriously,  not  pertaining  to  yourselves  merely,  nor  for 
your  race  and  ours  for  the  present  time,  but  as  one  of  the  things, 
if  successfully  managed,  for  the  good  of  mankind — not  confined 
to  the  present  generation,  but  as 

"  From  ago  to  age  descends  the  lay 

To  millions  yet  to  be, 
Till  far  its  echoes  roll  away 
Into  eternity." 

The  above  is  merely  given  as  the  substance  of  the  President's 
remarks. 

The  chairman  of  the  delegation  briefly  replied,  that  "  they 
would  hold  a  consultation,  and  in  a  short  time  give  an  answer." 
The  President  said,  u  Take  your  full  time — no  hurry  at  all." 

The  delegation  then  withdrew. 

THE   CLAMORS  FOR  EMANCIPATION. 

There  were  some  persons  who  seemed  to  think  that  Mr. 
Lincoln  was  elected  not  constitutional  President  of  the 
United  States,  but  President  of  an  enormous  Anti-Slavery 
Society.  Prominent  among  these  was  the  eminent  and 
estimable  philanthropist  who  had  made  the  New  York 
Tribune  a  power  in  the  land,  through  the  columns  of 
which  journal  he  addressed  a  letter  to  the  President,  on 
the  19th  of  August,  1862.  urging  upon  him  with  great  ear 
nestness,  and  with  all  his  wonted  vigor  of  style,  a  policy 
of  unreserved  emancipation.  To  that  letter  Mr.  Lincoln 
made  the  following  clear  and  calm  reply  : 

EXECUTIVE  MANSION,  WASHINGTON,  August  22,  1862. 

Han,.  Horace  Greeley — Dear  Sir — I  have  just  read  yours  of 
the  19th  instant,  addressed  to  myself  through  the  New  York 
Tribune. 

If  there  be  in  it  any  statements  or  assumptions  of  fact  which  I 
may  know  to  be  erroneous,  I  do  not  now  and  here  controvert 
them. 


132       THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

If  there  be  any  inferences  which  I  may  believe  to  be  falsely 
drawn,  I  do  not  now  and  here  argue  against  them. 

If  there  be  perceptible  in  it  an  impatient  and  dictatorial  tone, 
I  waive  it  in  deference  to  an  old  friend  whose  heart  I  have 
always  supposed  to  be  right. 

As  to  the  policy  I  "  seem  to  be  pursuing,"  as  you  say,  I  have 
not  meant  to  leave  any  one  in  doubt.  I  would  save  the  Union. 
I  would  save  it  in  the  shortest  way  under  the  Constitution. 

The  sooner  the  national  authority  can  be  restored  the  nearer 
the  Union  will  be — the  Union  as  it  was. 

If  there  be  those  who  would  not  save  the  Union  unless  they 
could  at  the  same  time  save  slavery,  I  do  not  agree  with  them. 

If  there  be  those  who  would  not  save  the  Union  unless  they  could 
at  the  same  time  destroy  slavery,  I  do  not  agree  with  them. 

My  paramount  object  is  to  save  the  Union,  and  not  either  to 
save  or  destroy  slavery. 

If  I  could  save  the  Union  without  freeing  any  slave,  I  would 
do  it — if  I  could  save  it  by  freeing  all  the  slaves,  I  would  do  it 
— and  if  I  could  do  it  by  freeing  some  and  leaving  others  alone, 
I  would  also  do  that. 

What  I  do  about  slavery  and  the  colored  race,  I  do  because  I 
believe  it  helps  to  save  this  Union,  and  what  I  forbear,  I  forbear 
because  I  do  not  believe  it  would  help  to  save  the  Union. 

I  shall  do  less  whenever  I  shall  believe  what  I  am  doing  hurts 
the  cause,  and  I  shall  do  more  whenever  I  believe  doing  more 
will  help  the  cause. 

I  shall  try  to  correct  errors  when  shown  to  be  errors,  and  I 
shall  adopt  new  views  so  fast  as  they  shall  appear  to  be  true  views. 

I  have  here  stated  my  purpose  according  to  my  views  of 
official  duty,  and  I  intend  no  modification  of  my  oft-expressed 
personal  wish  that  all  men  everywhere  could  be  free. 

Yours,  A.  LINCOLN. 

Such  appeals  as  that  to  which  Mr.  Lincoln  replied  in 
the  foregoing  letter,  became  more  frequent,  taking  in 
some  instances  almost  the  shape  of  demands  ;  and  on  the 
13th  of  September,  the  President  formally  received  a 
deputation  from  the  various  religious  denominations  of 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.       133 

Chicago,  who  presented  a  memorial  asking  immediate  and 
unconditional  emancipation,  to  which  he  made  the  follow 
ing  response : 

The  subject  presented  in  the  memorial  is  one  upon  which  I 
have  thought  much  for  weeks  past,  and  I  may  even  say  for 
months.  I  am  approached  with  the  most  opposite  opinions  and 
advice,  and  that  by  religious  men,  who  are  equally  certain  that 
they  represent  the  Divine  will.  I  am  sure  that  either  the  one 
or  the  other  class  is  mistaken  in  that  belief,  and  perhaps  in  some 
respects  both.  I  hope  it  will  not  be  irreverent  for  me  to  say  that 
if  it  is  probable  that  God  would  reveal  his  will  to  others,  on  a 
point  so  connected  with  my  duty,  it  might  be  supposed  he 
would  reveal  it  directly  to  me  ;  for,  unless  I  am  more  deceived 
in  myself  than  I  often  am,  it  is  my  earnest  desire  to  know  the 
will  of  Providence  in  this  matter.  And  if  I  can  learn  what  it 
is  I  will  do  it !  These  are  not,  however,  the  days  of  miracles, 
and  I  suppose  it  will  be  granted  that  I  am  not  to  expect  a  di 
rect  revelation.  I  must  study  the  plain  physical  facts  of  the 
case,  ascertain  what  is  possible,  and  learn  what  appears  to  be 
wise  and  right. 

The  subject  is  difficult,  and  good  men  do  not  agree.  For  in 
stance,  the  other  day,  four  gentlemen  of  standing  and  intelli 
gence  from  New  York  called  as  a  delegation  on  business  con 
nected  with  the  war ;  but  before  leaving  two  of  them  earnestly 
besought  me  to  proclaim  general  emancipation,  upon  which  the 
other  two  at  once  attacked  them.  You  know,  also,  that  the  last 
session  of  Congress  had  a  decided  majority  of  anti-slavery  men, 
yet  they  could  not  unite  on  this  policy.  And  the  same  is  true 
of  the  religious  people.  Why,  the  rebel  soldiers  are  praying 
with  a  great  deal  more  earnestness,  I  fear,  than  our  own  troops, 
and  expecting  God  to  favor  their  side  :  for  one  of  our  soldiers, 
who  had  been  taken  prisoner,  told  Senator  Wilson  a  few  clays 
since,  that  he  met  nothing  so  discouraging  as  the  evident  sin 
cerity  of  those  he  was  among,  in  their  prayers.  But  we  will  tulk 
over  the  merits  of  the  case. 

What  good  would  a  proclamation  of  emancipation  from  me 
do,  especially  as  we  are  now  situated  ?  I  do  not  want  to  issue 


134  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

a  document  that  the  whole  world  will  see  must  necessarily  be 
inoperative,  like  the  Pope's  bull  against  the  comet !  Would 
my  word  free  the  slaves,  when  I  cannot  even  enforce  the  Consti 
tution  in  the  rebel  States  ?  Is  there  a  single  court,  or  magis 
trate,  or  individual  that  would  be  influenced  by  it  there  ?  And 
what  reason  is  there  to  think  it  would  have  any  greater  effect 
upon  the  slaves  than  the  late  law  of  Congress,  which  I  approved, 
and  which  offers  protection  and  freedom  to  the  slaves  of  rebel 
masters  who  come  within  our  lines  ?  Yet  I  cannot  learn  that 
the  law  has  caused  a  single  slave  to  come  over  to  us.  And  sup 
pose  they  could  be  induced  by  a  proclamation  of  freedom  from 
me  to  throw  themselves  upon  us,  what  should  we  do  with  them  ? 
How  can  we  feed  and  care  for  such  a  multitude  ?  General  Butler 
wrote  me  a  few  days  since  that  he  was  issuing  more  rations  to 
the  slaves  who  have  rushed  to  him  than  to  all  the  white  troops 
under  his  command.  They  eat,  and  that  is  all ;  though  it  is 
true  General  Butler  is  feeding  the  whites  also  by  the  thousand ; 
for  it  nearly  amounts  to  a  famine  there.  If,  now,  the  pressure 
of  the  war  should  call  off  our  forces  from  New  Orleans  to  defend 
some  other  point,  what  is  to  prevent  the  masters  from  reducing 
the  blacks  to  slavery  again ;  for  I  am  told  that  whenever  the 
rebels  take  any  black  prisoners,  free  or  slave,  they  immediately 
auction  them  off!  They  did  so  with  those  they  took  from  a 
boat  that  was  aground  in  the  Tennessee  river  a  few  days  ago. 
And  then  I  am  very  ungenerously  attacked  for  it !  For  instance, 
when,  after  the  late  battles  at  and  near  Bull  Run,  an  expedition 
went  out  from  Washington,  under  a  flag  of  truce,  to  bury  the 
dead  and  bring  in  the  wounded,  and  the  rebels  seized  the  blacks 
who  went  along  to  help,  and  sent  them  into  slavery,  Horace 
Greeley  said  in  his  paper  that  the  Government  would  probably 
do  nothing  about  it.  What  could  I  do  ? 

Now,  then,  tell  me,  if  you  please,  what  possible  result  of  good 
would  follow  the  issuing  of  such  a  proclamation  as  you  desire  ? 
Understand,  I  raise  no  objections  against  it  on  legul  or  constitu 
tional  grounds,  for,  as  commander-in-chief  of  the  army  and 
navy,  in  time  of  war  I  suppose  I  have  a  right  to  take  any  mea 
sure  which  may  best  subdue  the  enemy,  nor  do  I  urge  objections 
of  a  moral  nature,  in  view  of  possible  consequences  of  insurrec- 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  135 

tion  and  massacre  at  the  South.  I  view  this  matter  as  a  practi 
cal  war  measure,  to  be  decided  on  according  to  the  advantages 
or  disadvantages  it  may  offer  to  the  suppression  of  the  rebellion. 

I  admit  that  slavery  is  at  the  root  of  the  rebellion,  or  at  least 
its  sine  qua  non.  The  ambition  of  politicians  may  have  insti 
gated  them  to  act,  but  they  would  have  been  impotent  without 
slavery  as  their  instrument.  I  will  also  concede  that  emancipa 
tion  would  help  us  in  Europe,  and  convince  them  that  we  are 
incited  by  something  more  than  ambition.  I  grant,  further,  that 
it  would  help  somewhat  at  the  North,  though  not  so  much,  I 
fear,  as  you  and  those  you  represent  imagine.  Still,  some  ad 
ditional  strength  would  be  added  in  that  way  to  the  war,  and 
then,  unquestionably,  it  would  weaken  the  rebels  by  drawing 
off  their  laborers,  which  is  of  great  importance ;  but  I  am  not 
so  sure  we  could  do  much  with  the  blacks.  If  we  were  to  arm 
them,  I  fear  that  in  a  few  weeks  the  arms  would  be  in  the  hands 
of  the  rebels ;  and,  indeed,  thus  far,  we  have  not  had  arms 
enough  to  equip  our  white  troops.  I  will  mention  another 
thing,  though  it  meet  only  your  scorn  and  contempt.  There 
are  50,000  bayonets  in  the  Union  army  from  the  border  slave 
States.  It  would  be  a  serious  matter  if,  in  consequence  of  a 
proclamation  such  as  you  desire,  they  should  go  over  to  the 
rebels.  I  do  not  think  they  all  would — not  so  many,  indeed,  as 
a  year  ago,  or  as  six  months  ago — not  so  many  to-day  as  yester 
day.  Every  day  increases  their  Union  feeling.  They  are  also 
getting  their  pride  enlisted,  and  want  to  beat  the  rebels.  Let 
me  say  one  thing  more :  I  think  you  should  admit  that  we 
already  have  an  important  principle  to  rally  and  unite  the  peo 
ple,  in  the  fact  that  constitutional  government  is  at  stake.  This 
is  a  fundamental  idea  going  down  about  as  deep  as  any 'thing. 

Do  not  misunderstand  me  because  I  have  mentioned  these 
objections.  They  indicate  the  difficulties  that  have  thus  far 
prevented  my  action  in  some  such  way  as  you  desire.  I  have 
not  decided  against  a  proclamation  of  liberty  to  the  slaves,  but 
hold  the  matter  under  advisement.  And  I  can  assure  you  that 
the  subject  is  on  my  mind,  by  day  and  night,  more  than  any 
other.  Whatever  shall  appear  to  be  God's  will  I  will  do.  I 
trust  that  in  the  freedom  with  which  I  have  canvassed  your 
views  I  have  not  in  any  respect  injured  your  feelings. 


136  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

EMANCIPATION   DECIDED   UPON. 

Being  convinced  that  a  policy  of  emancipation  was 
right  in  itself  and  that  the  time  had  arrived  when  it 
would  receive  that  degree  of  public  approval  without 
which,  right  or  wrong,  it  would  have  been  in  vain,  the 
President  issued  on  the  22d  of  September  the  following 

PRELIMINARY   PROCLAMATION   OF   EMANCIPATION. 

I,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  President  of  the  United  States  of 
America  and  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  army  and  navy  there 
of,  do  hereby  proclaim  and  declare  that  hereafter,  as  heretofore, 
the  war  will  be  prosecuted  for  the  object  of  practically  restoring 
the  constitutional  relation  between  the  United  States  and  each 
of  the  States,  and  the  people  thereof,  in  which  States  that 
relation  is  or  may  be  suspended  or  disturbed. 

That  it  is  my  purpose,  upon  the  next  meeting  of  Congress, 
to  again  recommend  the  adoption  of  a  practical  measure 
tendering  pecuniary  aid  to  the  free  acceptance  or  rejection  of 
all  Slave  States  so-called,  the  people  whereof  may  not  then  be 
in  rebellion  against  the  United  States,  and  which  States  may 
then  have  voluntarily  adopted,  or  thereafter  may  voluntarily 
adopt,  immediate  or  gradual  abolishment  of  slavery  within 
their  respective  limits ;  and  that  the  effort  to  colonize  persons 
of  African  descent,  with  their  consent,  upon  this  continent  or 
elsewhere,  with  the  previously  obtained  consent  of  the  govern 
ments  existing  there,  will  be  continued. 

That  on  the  first  day  of  January,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord 
one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty-three,  all  persons  held  as 
slaves  within  any  State,  or  designated  part  of  a  State,  the 
people  whereof  shall  then  be  in  rebellion  against  the  United 
States,  shall  be  then,  thenceforward,  and  forever  free  ;  and  the 
Executive  Government  of  the  United  States,  including  the 
military  and  naval  authority  thereof,  will  recognize  and  maintain 
the  freedom  of  such  persons,  and  will  do  no  act  or  acts  to  repress 
such  persons,  or  any  of  them,  in  any  efforts  they  may  make  for 
their  actual  freedom. 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  137 

That  the  Executive  will,  on  the  first  day  of  January  aforesaid, 
by  proclamation,  designate  the  States  and  parts  of  States,  if 
any,  in  which  the  people  thereof  respectively  shall  then  be  in 
rebellion  against  the  United  States;  and  the  fact  that  any 
State,  or  the  people  thereof,  shall  on  that  day  be  in  good  faith 
represented  in  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  by  members 
chosen  thereto  at  elections  wherein  a  majority  of  the  qualified 
voters  of  such  State  shall  have  participated,  shall,  in  the 
absence  of  strong  countervailing  testimony,  be  deemed  conclu 
sive  evidence  that  such  State,  and  the  people  thereof,  are  not 
then  in  rebellion  against  the  United  States. 

That  attention  is  hereby  called  to  an  act  of  Congress  entitled 
"  An  Act  to  make  an  additional  Article  of  War,"  approved 
March  13th,  1862,  and  which  act  as  is  in  the  words  and  figures 
following : 

Be  it  enacted  ty  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the 
United  States  of  America  in  Congress  assembled,  That  hereafter 
the  following  shall  be  promulgated  as  an  additional  article  of 
war  for  the  government  of  the  army  of  the  United  States,  and 
shall  be  obeyed  and  observed  as  such : 

ARTICLE. — All  oificers  or  persons  in  the  military  or  naval 
service  of  the  United  States  are  prohibited  from  employing  any 
of  the  forces  under  their  respective  commands  for  the  purpose 
of  returning  fugitives  from  service  or  labor  who  may  have 
escaped  from  any  persons  to  whom  such  service  or  labor  is 
claimed  to  be  due ;  and  any  officer  who  shall  be  found  guilty 
by  a  court-martial  of  violating  this  article  shall  be  dismissed 
from  the  service. 

SEC.  2.  And  'be  it  further  enacted,   That  this  act  shall  take 

effect  from  and  after  its  passage. 

» 

Also,  to  the  ninth  and  tenth  sections  of  an  act  entitled  "  An 
Act  to  suppress  Insurrection,  to  punish  Treason  and  Rebellion, 
to  seize  and  confiscate  Property  of  Rebels,  and  for  other  pur 
poses,"  approved  July  16,  1862,  and  which  sections  are  in  the 
words  and  figures  following  : 

SEC.  9.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  all  slaves  of  persons 


138  THE 

who  shall  hereafter  be  engaged  in  rebellion  against  the  Govern 
ment  of  the  United  States,  or  who  shall  in  any  way  give  aid  or 
comfort  thereto,  escaping  from  such  persons  and  taking  refuge 
within  the  lines  of  the  army ;  and  all  slaves  captured  from  such 
persons,  or  deserted  by  them  and  coming  under  the  control  of 
the  Government  of  the  United  States ;  and  all  slaves  of  such 
persons  found  on  [or]  being  within  any  place  occupied  by  rebel 
forces  and  afterwards  occupied  by  forces  of  the  United  States, 
shall  be  deemed  captives  of  war,  and  shall  be  forever  free  of 
their  servitude,  and  not  again  held  as  slaves. 

SEC.  10.  And  le  it  further  enacted,  That  no  slave  escaping 
into  any  State,  Territory,  or  the  District  of  Columbia,  from  any 
other  State,  shall  be  delivered  up,  or  in  any  way  impeded  or 
hindered  of  his  liberty,  except  for  crime,  or  some  offence  against 
the  laws,  unless  the  person  claiming  said  fugitive  shall  first 
make  oath  that  the  person  to  whom  the  labor  or  service  of  such 
fugitive  is  alleged  to  be  due  is  his  lawful  owner,  and  has  not 
borne  arms  against  the  United  States  in  the  present  rebellion,  nor 
in  any  way  given  aid  and  comfort  thereto ;  and  no  person 
engaged  in  the  military  or  naval  service  of  the  United  States 
shall,  under  any  pretence  whatever,  assume  to  decide  on  the 
validity  of  the  claim  of  any  person  to  the  service  or  labor  of 
any  other  person,  or  surrender  up  any  such  person  to  the  claim 
ant,  on  pain  of  being  dismissed  from  the  service. 

And  I  do  hereby  enjoin  upon  and  order  all  persons  engaged 
in  the  military  and  naval  service  of  the  United  States  to  observe, 
obey,  and  enforce,  within  their  respective  spheres  of  service, 
the  act  and  sections  above  recited. 

And  the  Executive  will  in  due  time  recommend  that  all 
citizens  of  the  United  States  who  shall  have  remained  loyal 
thereto  throughout  the  rebellion,  shall  (upon  the  restoration  of 
the  constitutional  relation  between  the  United  States  and  their 
respective  States  and  people,  if  that  relation  shall  have  been 
suspended  or  disturbed)  be  compensated  for  all  losses  by  acts 
of  the  United  States,  including  the  loss  of  slaves. 

In  witness  whereof  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand  and  caused 
the  seal  of  the  United  States  to  be  affixed. 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  139 

Done  at  the  city  of  Washington,  this  tenth  day  of  April,  in  the 

year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty- 

[L.  s.]  two,  and  of  the  independence  of  the  United  States  the 

eighty- seventh.  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

By  the  President : 

WM.  II.  SKWAED,  Secretary  of  State. 

This  proclamation  caused  a  very  profound  sensation 
throughout  the  country.  On  the  evening  of  the  24th 
of  September  a  large  body  of  people  assembled  before 
the  White  House  with  music.  The  President  came  out 
to  them  and  made  the  following  speech.  It  is  manifest, 
even  more  than  by  words,  how  great  was  his  sense  of 
responsibility  in  taking  this  step,  and  with  what  anxiety 
he  watched  for  its  effect  upon  the  country. 

Fellow- Citizens — I  appear  before  you  to  do  little  more  than  to 
acknowledge  the  courtesy  you  pay  me,  and  to  thank  you  for  it. 
I  have  not  been  distinctly  informed  why  it  is  that  on  this  occa 
sion  you  appear  to  do  me  this  honor,  though  I  suppose  it  is 
because  of  the  Proclamation.  What  I  did,  I  did  after  a  very 
full  deliberation,  and  under  a  very  heavy  and  solemn  sense  of 
responsibility.  I  can  only  trust  in  God  I  have  made  no  mis 
take.  I  shall  make  no  attempt  on  this  occasion  to  sustain  what 
I  have  done  or  said  by  any  comment.  It  is  now  for  the  country 
and  the  world  to  pass  judgment,  and,  may  be,  take  action  upon 
it.  I  will  say  no  more  upon  this  subject.  In  my  position  I  am 
environed  with  difficulties.  Yet  they  are  scarcely  so  great  as 
the  difficulties  of  those  who,  upon  the  battle-field,  are  endeav 
oring  to  purchase  with  their  blood  and  their  lives,  the  future 
happiness  and  prosperity  of  this  country.  Let  us  never  forget 
them.  On  the  14th  and  17th  days  of  this  present  month,  there 
have  been  battles  bravely,  skillfully,  and  successfully  fought. 
We  do  not  yet  know  the  particulars.  Let  us  be  sure  that, 
in  giving  praise  to  certain  individuals,  we  do  no  injustice  to 
others.  I  only  ask  you  at  the  conclusion  of  these  few  remarks, 
to  give  three  hearty  cheers  to  all  good  and  brave  officers  and 
men  who  fought  those  successful  battles. 


140  THE  MABTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

SUSPENSION  OF  THE  WRIT  OF  HABEAS  CORPUS. 

Early  in  the  rebellion  it  had  been  found  necessary  by 
the  President,  in  pursuance  of  the  clause  in  the  Constitu 
tion  providing  for  such  action,  to  suspend  the  privalege 
of  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  in  a  few  isolated  instances, 
by  orders  issued  to  military  officers.  But  the  following 
is  the  first  proclamation  ordering  such  suspension  in  re 
gard  to  all  persons  in  military  custody  : 

PROCLAMATION. 

Whereas,  it  has  been  necessary  to  call  into  service,  not  only 
volunteers,  but  also  portions  of  the  militia  of  the  States  by 
draft,  in  order  to  suppress  the  insurrection  existing  in  the 
United  States,  and  disloyal  persons  are  not  adequately  re 
strained  by  the  ordinary  processes  of  law  from  hindering  this 
measure,  and  from  giving  aid  and  comfort  in  various  ways  to 
the  insurrection, 

Now,  therefore,  be  it  ordered — 

First,  That  during  the  existing  insurrection,  and  as  a  neces 
sary  measure  for  suppressing  the  same,  all  rebels  and  insur 
gents,  their  aiders  and  abettors,  within  the  United  States,- and 
all  persons  discouraging  volunteer  enlistments,  resisting  military 
drafts,  or  guilty  of  any  disloyal  practice  affording  aid  and  com 
fort  to  the  rebels  against  the  authority  of  the  United  States, 
shall  be  subject  to  martial  law,  and  liable  to  trial  and  punish 
ment  by  court-martial  or  military  commission. 

Second,  That  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  is  suspended  in  respect 
to  all  persons  arrested,  or  who  are  now,  or  hereafter  during  the 
rebellion  shall  be,  imprisoned  in  any  fort,  camp,  arsenal,  mili 
tary  prison,  or  other  place  of  confinement,  by  any  military  au 
thority,  or  by  the  sentence  of  any  court-martial  or  military 
commission. 

In  witness  whereof  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand  and  seal,  and 
caused  the  seal  of  the  United  States  to  be  affixed. 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  141 

Done  at  the  city  of  Washington,  this  twenty-fourth  day  of 
September,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand 
[L.  s.]     eight  hundred  and  sixty-two,  and  of  the  independ 
ence  of  the  United  States  'the  eighty-seventh. 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 
By  the  President : 

WILLIAM  H.  SEWARD,  Secretary  of  State. 

GENERAL   M'CLELLAN   AGAIN. 

On  the  6th  of  October,  after  a  visit  made  by  the  Pres 
ident  to  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  General  McClellan 
received  an  order  through  General  Halleck,  then  gen- 
eral-in-chief,  to  cross  the  Potomac  immediately  and  give 
battle  or  drive  the  enemy  southward.  But  the  com 
mander  was  not  yet  ready  and  went  into  correspondence 
about  supplies  and  reinforcements.  Meantime  the  rebel 
General  of  cavalry,  Stuart,  rode  round  and  round  him, 
going  into  Pennsylvania,  and  setting  him  openly  at 
naught.  Upon  this.  Mr.  Lincoln  addressed  him  the  fol 
lowing  letter,  which  elicited  only  replies,  the  nature  of 
which  is  clearly  enough  shown  by  the  President's  brief 
dispatches  which  are  appended  to  it. 

EXECUTIVE  MANSION,  WASHINGTON,  Oct.  13, 1S62. 

My  Dear  Sir — You  remember  my  speaking  to  you  of  what  I 
called  your  overcautiousness.  Are  you  not  overcautious  when 
you  assume  that  you  can  not  do  what  the  enemy  is  constantly 
doing  ?  Should  you  not  claim  to  be  at  least  his  equal  in  prowess, 
and  act  upon  the  claim? 

As  I  understand,  you  telegraphed  General  Halleck  that  you 
can  not  subsist  your  army  at  Winchester,  unless  the  railroad 
from  Harper's  Ferry  to  that  point  be  put  in  working  order. 
But  the  enemy  does  now  subsist  his  army  at  Winchester,  at  a 
distance  nearly  twice  as  great  from  railroad  transportation  as 
you  would  have  to  do  without  the  railroad  last  named.  He 


142       THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

now  wagons  from  Culpepper  Court-House,  which  is  just  about 
twice  as  far  as  you  would  have  to  do  from  Harper's  Ferry.  He 
is  certainly  not  more  than  half  as  well  provided  with  wagons 
as  you  are.  I  certainly  should  be  pleased  for  you  to  have  the 
advantage  of  the  railroad  from  Harper's  Ferry  to  Winchester ; 
but  it  wastes  all  the  remainder  of  autumn  to  give  it  to  you,  and, 
in  fact,  ignores  the  question  of  time,  which  can  not  and  must 
not  be  ignored. 

Again,  one  of  the  standard  maxims  of  war,  as  you  know,  is, 
"  to  operate  upon  the  enemy's  communications  as  much  as  pos 
sible  without  exposing  your  own."  You  seem  to  act  as  if  this 
applies  against  you,  but  can  not  apply  in  your  favor.  Change 
positions  with  the  enemy,  and  think  you  not  he  would  break 
your  communication  with  Richmond  within  the  next  twenty- 
four  hours  ?  You  dread  his  going  into  Pennsylvania.  But  if 
he  does  so  in  full  force,  he  gives  up  his  communications  to  you 
absolutely,  and  you  have  nothing  to  do  but  to  follow  and  ruin 
him  ;  if  he  does  so  with  less  than  full  force,  fall  upon  and  beat 
what  is  left  behind  all  the  easier. 

Exclusive  of  the  water  line,  you  are  now  nearer  Richmond 
than  the  enemy  is  by  the  route  that  you  can  and  h^must  take. 
Why  can  you  not  reach  there  before  him,  unless  you  admit  that 
he  is  more  than  your  equal  on  a  march  ?  His  route  is  the  arc 
of  a  circle,  while  yours  is  the  chord.  The  roads  are  as  good  on 
yours  as  on  his. 

You  know  I  desired,  but  did  not  order  you,  to  cross  the  Poto 
mac  below  instead  of  above  the  Shenandoah  and  Blue  Ridge.  My 
idea  was,  that  this  would  at  once  menace  the  enemy's  communi 
cations,  which  I  would  seize  if  he  would  permit.  If  he  should 
move  northward,  I  would  follow  him  closely,  holding  his  com 
munications.  If  he  should  prevent  our  seizing  his  communi 
cations,  and  move  toward  Richmond,  I  would  press  closely  to 
him,  fight  him  if  a  favorable  opportunity  should  present,  and 
at  least  try  to  beat  him  to  Richmond  on  the  inside  track.  I  say 
"  try ; "  if  we  never  try,  we  shall  never  succeed.  If  he  make  a 
stand  at  Winchester,  moving  neither  north  nor  south,  I  would 
fight  him  there,  on  the  idea  that  if  we  cannot  beat  him  when 
he  bears  the  wastage  of  coming  to  us,  we  never  can  when  we 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  143 

bear  the  wastage  of  going  to  him.  This  proposition  is  a  simple 
truth,  and  is  too  important  to  be  lost  sight  of  for  a  moment. 
In  coming  to  us,  he  tenders  us  an  advantage  which  we  should 
not  waive.  We  should  not  so  operate  as  to  merely  drive  him 
away.  As  we  must  beat  him  somewhere,  or  fail  finally,  we  can 
do  it,  if  at  all,  easier  near  to  us  than  faf  away.  If  we  cannot 
beat  the  enemy  where  he  now  is,  we  never  can,  he  again  being 
within  the  intrenchments  of  Richmond.  Recurring  to  the  idea 
of  going  to  Richmond  on  the  inside  track,  the  facility  of  sup 
plying  from  the  side  away  from  the  enemy  is  remarkable,  as  it 
were,  by  the  different  spokes  of  a  wheel,  extending  from  the 
hub  toward  the  rim,  and  this  whether  you  move  directly  by  the 
chord,  or  on  the  inside  arc,  hugging  the  Blue  Ridge  more 
closely.  The  chord-line,  as  you  see,  carries  you  by  Aldie,  Hay- 
market,  and  Fredericksburg,  and  you  see  how  turnpikes,  rail 
roads,  and  finally  the  Potomac  by  Aquia  Creek,  meet  you  at  all 
points  from  Washington.  The  same,  only  the  lines  lengthened 
a  little,  if  you  press  closer  to  the  Blue  Ridge  part  of  the  way. 
The  gaps  through  the  Blue  Ridge  I  understand  to  be  about  the 
following  distances  from  ^Harper's  Ferry,  to  wit ;  Yestal's,  five 
miles ;  Gregory's,  thirteen ;  Snicker's,  eighteen ;  Ashby's, 
twenty-eight ;  Manassas,  thirty-eight ;  Chester,  forty-five ;  and 
Thornton's,  fifty-three.  I  should  think  it  preferable  to  take  the 
route  nearest  the  enemy,  disabling  him  to  make  an  important 
move  without  your  knowledge,  and  compelling  him  to  keep  his 
forces  together  for  dread  of  you.  The  gaps  would  enable  you 
to  attack  if  you  should  wish.  For  a  great  part  of  the  way 
you  would  be  practically  between  the  enemy  and  both  Washing 
ton  and  Richmond,  enabling  us  to  spare  you  the  greatest  num 
ber  of  troops  from  here.  When,  at  length,  running  to 
Richmond  ahead  of  him  enables  him  to  move  this  way,  if  he 
does  so,  turn  and  attack  him  in  the  rear.  But  I  think  he 
should  be  engaged  long  before  such  point  is  reached.  It  is  all 
easy  if  our  troops  inarch  as  well  as  the  enemy,  and  it  is  unmanly 
to  say  they  cannot  do  it.  This  letter  is  in  no  sense  an  order. 


Yours,  truly, 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 


Major-Goneral  MC€LELLA«. 


144  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

WAR  DEPARTMENT,  WASHINGTON,  Oct.  25,  1862. 

I  have  just  read  your  dispatch  about  sore-tongue  and  fatigued 
horses.  Will  you  pardon  me  for  asking  what  the  horses  of 
your  army  have  done  since  the  battle  of  Antietam  that  fatigues 
anything?  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

EXECUTIVE  MANSION,         | 
WASHINGTON,  Oct.  26,  1862.  ) 

Yours  in  reply  to  mine  about  horses  received.  Of  course 
you  know  the  facts  better  than  I.  Still,  two  considerations 
remain :  Stuart's  cavalry  outmarched  ours,  having  certainly 
done  more  marked  service  on  the  Peninsula  and  everywhere 
since.  Secondly  :  will  not  a  movement  of  our  army  be  a  relief 
to  the  cavalry,  compelling  the  enemy  to  concentrate  instead  of 
"foraging"  in  squads  everywhere?  But  I  am  so  rejoiced  to 
learn  from  your  dispatch  to  General  Halleck  that  you  began 
crossing  the  river  this  morning.  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

EXECUTIVE  MANSION,         ) 
WASHINGTON,  Oct.  26,  1862.     J 

Yours  of  yesterday  received.  Most  certainly  I  intend  no 
injustice  to  any,  and  if  I  have  done  any  I  deeply  regret  it.  To 
be  told,  after  more  than  five  weeks'  total  inaction  of  the  army, 
and  during  which  period  we  had  sent  to  that  army  every  fresh 
horse  we  possibly  could,  amounting  in  the  whole  to  7,918,  that 
the  cavalry  horses  were  too  much  fatigued  to  move,  presented 
a  very  cheerless,  almost  hopeless,  prospect  for  the  future,  and 
it  may  have  forced  something  of  impatience  into  my  dispatches. 
If  not  recruited  and  rested  then,  when  could  they  ever  be  ?  I 
suppose  the  river  is  rising,  and  I  am  glad  to  believe  you  are 
crossing.  A.  LINCOLN. 

EXECUTIVE  MANSION,       ) 
WASHINGTON,  Oct.  27,  1862.  f 

Your  dispatch  of  3  P.M.  to-day,  in  regard  to  filling  up  old 
regiments  with  drafted  men,  is  received,  and  the  request  therein 
shall  be  complied  with  as  far  as  practicable.  And  now  I  ask  a 
distinct  answer  to  the  question,  "  Is  it  your  purpose  not  to  go 
into  action  again  till  the  men  now  being  drafted  in  the  States 
are  incorporated  in  the  old  regiments  ? "  A.  LINCOLN. 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  145 

DEFENCE  OF  GENERAL  M<CLELLAN. 

Sorely  tried  as  President  Lincoln  was  bj  General 
McClellan,  he  yet  sustained  him  to  the  best  of  his  ability 
and  with  great  magnanimity  as  long  as  he  was  kept  in 
command.  On  the  6th  of  August  a  war  meeting  was 
held  in  Washington,  at  which  Mr.  Lincoln  was  present, 
and  delivered  the  following  brief  address.  It  was  just 
after  General  M'Clellan's  retreat  across  the  Peninsula, 
when  popular  feeling  was  turning  strongly  against  him. 
Whoever  will  bear  in  mind  the  correspondence  which 
took  place  about  that  time,  and  which  was  not  published 
until  long  after  will  find  no  trace  of  it  in  this  generous 
defence. 

Fellmc-  Citizens — I  believe  there  is  no  precedent  for  my  ap 
pearing  before  you  on  this  occasion,  but  it  is  also  true  that  there 
is  no  precedent  for  your  being  here  yourselves,  and  I  offer,  in 
justification  of  myself  and  of  you,  that,  upon  examination,  I 
have  found  nothing  in  the  Constitution  against  it.  I,  however, 
have  an  impression  that  there  are  younger  gentlemen  who  will 
entertain  you  better,  and  better  address  your  understanding 
than  I  will  or  could,  and  therefore  I  propose  but  to  detain  you 
a  moment  longer. 

I  am  very  little  inclined  on  any  occasion  to  say  anything 
unless  I  hope  to  produce  some  good  by  it.  The  only  thing  I 
think  of  just  now  not  likely  to  be  better  said  by  some  one  else, 
is  a  matter  in  which  we  have  heard  some  other  persons  blamed 
for  what  I  did  myself.  There  has  been  a  very  wide-spread  at 
tempt  to  have  a  quarrel  between  General  McClellan  and  the 
Secretary  of  War.  Now,  I  occupy  a  position  that  enables  me 
to  observe,  that  these  two  gentlemen  are  not  nearly  so  deep  in 
the  quarrel  as  some  pretending  to  be  their  friends.  General 
McClellan's  attitude  is  such  that,  in  the  very  selfishness  of  his 
nature,  he  cannot  but  wish  to  be  successful,  and  I  hope  he  will 
— and  the  Secretary  of  War  is  in  precisely  the  same  situation. 
If  the  military  commanders  in  the  field  cannot  be  successful,  not 


146  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

only  the  Secretary  of  War,  but  myself,  for  the  time  being  the 
master  of  them  both,  cannot  but  be  failures.  I  know  General 
McClellan  wishes  to  be  successful,  and  I  know  he  does  not  wish 
it  any  more  than  the  Secretary  of  War  for  him,  and  both  of 
them  together  no  more  than  I  wish  it.  Sometimes  we  have  a 
dispute  about  how  many  men  General  McClellan  has  had,  and 
those  who  would  disparage  him  say  that  }ie  had  a  very  large 
number,  and  those  who  would  disparage  the  Secretary  of 
War  insist  that  General  McClellan  has  had  a  very  small  number, 
The  basis  for  this  is,  there  is  always  a  wide  difference,  and  on 
this  occasion,  perhaps  a  wider  one  than  usual,  between  the 
grand  total  on  McClellan's  rolls  and  the  men  actually  fit  for 
duty ;  and  those  who  would  disparage  him  talk  of  the  grand 
total  on  paper,  and  those  who  would  disparage  the  Secretary  of 
War  talk  of  those  at  present  fit  for  duty.  General  McClellan 
has  so'metimes  asked  for  things  that  the  Secretary  of  War  did 
not  give  him.  General  McClellan  is  not  to  blame  for  asking 
what  he  wanted  and  needed,  and  the  Secretary  of  War  is  not  to 
blame  for  not  giving  when  he  had  none  to  give.  And  I  say 
here,  as  far  as  I  know,  the  Secretary  of  War  has  withheld  no 
one  thing  at  any  time  in  my  power  to  give  him.  I  have  no  ac 
cusation  against  him.  I  believe  he  is  a  brave  and  able  man, 
and  I  stand  here,  as  justice  requires  me  to  do,  to  take  upon  my 
self  what  has  been  charged  on  the  Secretary  of  War,  as  with 
holding  from  him. 

I  have  talked  longer  than  I  expected  to  do,  and  now  I  avail 
myself  of  my  privilege  of  saying  no  more. 

OBSERVANCE    OF    SUNDAY. 

A  needless  amount  of  labor  on  the  one  hand,  and  of 
noisy  hilarity  upon  the  other,  upon  Sunday,  having  been 
noticed  in  the  araiy,  Mr.  Lincoln  issued  the  following  cir 
cular-letter  upon  that  subject : 

EXECUTIVE  MANSION,  WASHINGTON,  November  16,  1862. 

The  President,  cominander-in-chief  of  the  army  and  navy, 
desires  and  enjoins  the  orderly  observance  of  the  Sabbath  by  the 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.       147 

officers  and  men  in  the  military  and  naval  service.  The  impor 
tance  for  man  and  beast  of  the  prescribed  weekly  rest,  the 
sacred  rights  of  Christian  soldiers  and  sailors,  a  becoming 
deference  to  the  best  sentiment  of  a  Christian  people,  and  a  due 
regard  for  the  Divine  will,' demand  that  Sunday  labor  in  the 
army  and  navy  be  reduced  to  the  measure  of  strict  necessity. 

The  discipline  and  character  of  the  national  forces  should  not 
suffer,  nor  the  cause  they  defend  be  imperiled  by  the  profanation 
of  the  day  or  name  of  the  Most  High.  "At  this  time  of  public 
distress,'1  adopting  the  words  of  Washington  in  1776,  "men 
may  find  enough  to  do  in  the  service  of  God  and  their  country, 
without  abandoning  themselves  to  vice  and  immorality."  The 
first  general  order  issued  by  the  Father  of  his  Country,  after 
the  Declaration  of  Independence,  indicates  the  spirit  in  which 
our  institutions  were  founded,  and  should  ever  be  defended. 
"The  general  hopes  and  trusts  that  every  officer  and  man  will 
endeavor  to  live  and  act  as  becomes  a  Christian  soldier  defend 
ing  the  dearest  rights  and  liberties  of  his  country." 

A.  LINCOLN. 

ELECTIONS    IN    LOUISIANA. 

About  this  time  there  was  an  effort  making  to  get  up 
some  sort  of  make-shift  representation  of  Louisiana  in 
Congress.  How  wrongful  was  the  often  repeated  charge 
that  Mr.  Lincoln  endeavored  to  secure  support  for  his 
administration  and  a  reelection  for  himself  by  irregular 
and  violent  means  of  conducting  elections,  and  how 
opposed  he  was  in  feeling,  as  well  as  in  policy  to  any  such 
methods,  are  strikingly  shown  in  the  following  letter : 

EXECUTIVE  MANSION,  WASHINGTON,  November  21,  1862. 

Dear  Sir — Dr.  Kennedy,  bearer  of  this,  has  some  apprehension 
that  Federal  officers,  not  citizens  of  Louisiana,  may  be  set  up 
as  candidates  for  Congress  in  that  State.  In  my  view  there 
could  be  no  possible  object  in  such  an  election.  We  do  not 
particularly  need  members  of  Congress  from  those  States  to  en- 


148  THE  MAKTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

able  us  to  get  along  with  legislation  here.  What  we  do  want 
is  the  conclusive  evidence  that  respectable  citizens  of  Louisiana 
are  willing  to  be  members  of  Congress  and  to  swear  support  to 
the  Constitution,  and  that  other  respectable  citizens  there  are 
willing  to  vote  for  them  and  send  them.  To  send  a  parcel  of 
Northern  men  here  as  representatives,  elected  as  would  be  un 
derstood  (and  perhaps  really  so),  at  the  point  of  the 'bayonet, 
would  be  disgraceful  and  outrageous ;  and  were  I  a  member  of 
Congress  here,  I  would  vote  against  admitting  any  such  man  to 
a  seat.  Yours,  very  truly,  A.  LINCOLN. 

Hon.  G.  F.  SUEPLEY. 

MESSAGE   TO    CONGRESS,  DEC.  1st,  1862. 

What  had  been  the  recent  experience  of  the  country, 
and  what  was  its  internal  condition  and  its  relations  with 
foreign  powers,  are  very  fully  and  lucidly  set  forth  in 
Mr.  Lincoln's  Message  to  Congress  at  the  opening  of  its 
session  of  1862-3,  which  follows: 

Fellow-  Citizens  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives — Since 
your  last  annual  assembling,  another  year  of  health  and  bounti 
ful  harvests  has  passed,  and  while  it  has  not  pleased  the  Al 
mighty  to  bless  us  with  a  return  of  peace,  we.  can  but  press  on, 
guided  by  the  best  light  He  gives  us,  trusting  that,  in  his  own 
good  time  and  wise  way,  all  will  be  well. 

The  correspondence,  touching  foreign  affairs,  which  has  taken 
place  during  the  last  year,  is  herewith  submitted,  in  virtual 
compliance  with  a  request  to  that  effect  made  by  the  House  of 
Representatives  near  the  close  of  the  last  session  of  Congress. 
If  the  condition  of  our  relations  with  other  nations  is  less 
gratifying  than  it  has  usually  been  at  former  periods,  it  is  cer 
tainly  more  satisfactory  than  a  nation  so  unhappily  distracted 
as  we  are  might  reasonably  have  apprehended.  In  the  month 
of  June  last  there  were  some  grounds  to  expect  that  the  mari 
time  Powers  which,  at  the  beginning  of  our  domestic  difficul 
ties,  so  unwisely  and  so  unnecessarily,  as  we  think,  recognized 
the  insurgents  as  a  belligerent,  would  soon  recede  from  that  po- 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  149 

sition,  which  has  proved  only  less  injurious  to  themselves  than 
to  our  country.  But  the  temporary  reverses  which  afterward 
befell  the  National  arms,  and  which  were  exaggerated  by  our 
own  disloyal  citizens  abroad,  have  hitherto  delayed  that  act  of 
simple  justice. 

The  civil  war  which  has  so  radicalry  changed  for  the  moment 
the  occupations  and  habits  of  the  American  people,  has  neces 
sarily  disturbed  the  social  condition,  and  affected  very  deeply 
the  prosperity  of  the  nations  with  which  we  have  carried  on  a 
commerce  that  has  been  steadily  increasing  throughout  a  period 
of  half  a  century.  It  has,  at  the  same  time,  excited  -political 
ambitions  and  apprehensions  which  have  produced  a  profound 
agitation  throughout  the  civilized  world.  In  this  unusual  agi 
tation  we  have  forborne  from  taking  part  in  any  controversy 
between  foreign  states,  and  between  parties  or  factions  in  such 
states.  We  have  attempted  no  propagandism,  and  acknowledged 
no  revolution.  But  we  have  left  to  every  nation  the  exclusive 
conduct  and  management  of  its  own  affairs.  Our  struggle  has 
been,  of  course,  contemplated  by  foreign  nations  with  reference 
less  to  its  own  merits,  than  to  its  supposed  and  often  exaggera 
ted  effects  and  consequences  resulting  to  those  nations  them 
selves.  Nevertheless,  complaint  on  the  part  of  this  Government, 
even  if  it  were  just,  would  certainly  be  unwise. 

The  treaty  with  Great  Britain  for  the  suppression  of  the  slave 
trade  has  been  put  into  operation  with  a  good  prospect  of  com- 
plete  success.  It  is  an  occasion  of  special  pleasure  to  acknowl 
edge  that  the  execution  of  it  on  the  part  of  Her  Majesty's 
Government,  has  been  marked  with  a  jealous  respect  for  the 
authority  of  the  United  States  and  the  rights  of  their  moral 
and  loyal  citizens. 

The  convention  with  Hanover  for  the  abolition  of  the  stade 
dues  has  been  carried  into  full  effect,  under  the  act  of  Congress 
for  that  purpose. 

A  blockade  of  three  thousand  miles  of  seacoast  could  not  be 
established  and  vigorously  enforced,  in  a  season  of  great  com 
mercial  activity  like  the  present,  without  committing  occasional 
mistakes,  and  inflicting  unintentional  injuries  upon  foreign  na 
tions  and  their  subjects. 


150  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

A  civil  war  occurring  in  a  country  where  foreigners  reside 
and  carry  on  trade  under  treaty  stipulations,  is  necessarily  fruit 
ful  of  complaints  of  the  violation  of  neutral  rights.  All  such 
collisions  tend  to  excite  misapprehensions,  and  possibly  to  pro 
duce  mutual  reclamations  between  nations  which  have  a  com 
mon  interest  in  preserving  peace  and  friendship.  In  clear  cases 
of  these  kinds  I  have,  so  far  as  possible,  heard  and  redressed 
complaints  which  have  been  presented  by  friendly  Powers. 
There  is  still,  however,  a  large  and  augmenting  number  of 
doubtful  cases,  upon  which  the  Government  is  unable  to  agree 
with  the  Governments  whose  projection  is  demanded  by  the 
claimants.  There  are,  moreover,  many  cases  in  which  the  Uni 
ted  States,  or  their  citizens,  suffer  wrongs  from  the  naval  or 
military  authorities  of  foreign  nations,  which  the  Governments 
of  these  states  are  not  at  once  prepared  to  redress.  I  have  pro 
posed  to  some  of  the  foreign  states  thus  interested,  mutual  con 
ventions  to  examine  and  adjust  such  complaints.  This  proposi 
tion  has  been  made  especially  to  Great  Britain,  to  France,  to 
Spain,  and  to  Prussia.  In  each  case  it  has  been  kindly  received, 
but  has  not  yet  been  formally  adopted. 

I  deem  it  my  duty  to  recommend  an  appropriation  in  behalf 
of  the  owners  of  the  Norwegian  bark  Admiral  P.  Tordenskiold, 
which  vessel-  was,  in  May,  1861,  prevented  by  the  commander 
of  the  blockading  force  off  Charleston  from  leaving  that  port 
with  cargo,  notwithstanding  a  similar  privilege  had,  shortly 
before,  been  granted  to  an  English  vessel.  I  have  directed  the 
Secretary  of  State  to  cause  the  papers  in  the  case  to  be  com 
municated  to  the  proper  committees. 

Applications  have  been  made  to  me  by  many  free  Americans 
of  African  descent  to  favor  their  emigration,  with  a  view  to  such 
colonization  as  was  contemplated  in  recent  acts  of  Congress. 
Other  parties,  at  home  and  abroad — some  from  interested  mo 
tives,  others  upon  patriotic  considerations,  and  still  others  in 
fluenced  by  philanthropic  sentiments — have  suggested  similar 
measures ;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  several  of  the  Spanish- 
American  Republics  have  protested  against  the  sending  of  such 
colonies  to  their  respective  territories.  Under  these  circum 
stances  I  have  declined  to  move  any  such  colony  to  any  state 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  151 

without  first  obtaining  the  consent  of  its  Government,  with  an 
agreement  on  its  part  to  receive  and  protect  such  emigrants  in 
all  the  rights  of  freemen ;  and  I  have  at  the  same  time  offered 
to  the  several  states  situated  within  the  tropics,  or  having  colo 
nies  there,  to  negotiate  with  them,  subject  to  the  advice  and 
consent  of  the  Senate,  to  favor  the  voluntary  emigration  of  per 
sons  of  that  class  to  their  respective  territories,  upon  conditions 
that  shall  be  equal,  just,  and  humane.  Liberia  and  Hayti  are,  as 
yet,  the  only  countries  to  which  colonists  of  African  descent 
from  here  could  go  with  certainty  of  being  received  and  adopted 
as  citizens ;  and  I  regret  to,  say  such  persons,  contemplating 
colonization,  do  not  seem  so  willing  to  migrate  to  those  coun 
tries  as  to  some  others,  nor  so  willing  as  I  think  their  interest 
demands.  I  believe,  however,  opinion  among  them  in  this  re 
spect  is  improving ;  and  that  ere  long  there  will  be  an  aug 
mented  and  considerable  migration  to  both  these  countries  from 
the  United  States. 

The  new  commercial  treaty  between  the  United  States  and 
the  Sultan  of  Turkey  has  been  carried  into  execution. 

A  commercial  and  consular  treaty  has  been  negotiated,  subject 
to  the  Senate's  consent,  with  Liberia ;  and  a  similar  negotiation 
is  now  pending  with  the  Republic  of  Hayti.  A  considerable 
improvement  of  the  national  commerce  is  expected  to  result 
from  these  measures. 

Our  relations  with  Great  Britain,  France,  Spain,  Portugal, 
Russia,  Prussia,  Denmark,  Sweden,  Austria,  the  Netherlands, 
Italy,  Rome,  and  the  other  European  states,  remain  undisturbed. 
Very  favorable  relations  also  continue  to  be  maintained  with 
Turkey,  Morocco,  China,  and  Japan. 

During  the  last  year  there  has  not  only  been  no  change  of  our 
previous  relations  with  the  Independent  States  of  our  own  con 
tinent,  but  more  friendly  sentiments  than  have  heretofore  existed 
are  believed  to  be  entertained  by  these  neighbors,  whose  safety 
and  progress  are  so  intimately  connected  with  our  own.  This 
statement  especially  applies  to  Mexico,  Nicaragua,  Costa  Rica, 
Honduras,  Peru,  and  Chili. 

The  commission  under  the  convention  with  the  Republic  of 
New  Grenada  closed  its  session  without  having  audited  and 


152       THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

passed  upon  all  the  claims  which  were  submitted  to  it.  A 
proposition  is  pending  to  revive  the  convention,  that  it  be  able 
to  do  more  complete  justice.  The  joint  commission  between 
the  United  States  and  the  Republic  of  Costa  Rica  has  completed 
its  labors  and  submitted  its  report. 

I  have  favored  the  project  for  connecting  the  United  States 
with  Europe  by  an  Atlantic  telegraph,  and  a  similar  project  to 
extend  the  telegraph  from  San  Francisco  to  connect  by  a  Pacific 
telegraph  with  the  line  which  is  being  extended  across  the  Rus 
sian  Empire. 

The  Territories  of  the  United  States,  with  unimportant  excep 
tions,  have  remained  undisturbed  by  the  civil  war ;  and  they 
are  exhibiting  such  evidence  of  prosperity  as  justifies  an  expec 
tation  that  some  of  them  will  soon  be  in  a  condition  to  be 
organized  as  States,  and  be  constitutionally  admitted  into  the 
Federal  Union. 

The  immense  mineral  resources  of  some  of  those  Territories 
ought  to  be  developed  as  rapidly  as  possible.  Every  step  in 
that  direction  would  have  a  tendency  to  improve  the  revenues 
of  the  Government  and  diminish  the  burdens  of  the  people.  It 
is  worthy  of  your  serious  consideration  whether  some  extraordi 
nary  measures  to  promote  that  end  cannot  be  adopted.  The 
means  which  suggests  itself  as  most  likely  to  be  effective,  is  a 
scientific  exploration  of  the  mineral  regions  in  those  Territories, 
with  a  view  to  the  publication  of  its  results  at  home  and  in  for 
eign  countries — results  which  cannot  fail  to  be  auspicious. 

The  condition  of  the  finances  will  claim  your  most  diligent 
consideration.  The  vast  expenditures  incident  to  the  military 
and  naval  operations  required  for  the  suppression  of  the  rebel 
lion  have  been  hitherto  met  with  a  promptitude  and  certainty 
unusual  in  similar  circumstances;  and  the  public  credit  has 
been  fully  maintained.  The  continuance  of  the  war,  however, 
and  the  increased  disbursements  made  necessary  by  the  aug 
mented  forces  now  in  the  field,  demand  your  best  reflections  as 
to  the  best  modes  of  providing  the  necessary  revenue,  without 
injury  to  business,  and  with  the  least  possible  burdens  upon 
labor. 

The  suspension  of  specie  payments  by  the  banks,  soon  after 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  153 

the  commencement  of  your  last  session,  made  large  issues  of 
United  States  notes  unavoidable.  In  no  other  way  could  the 
payment  of  the  troops  and  the  satisfaction  of  other  just  de 
mands,  be  so  economically  or  so  well  provided  for.  The  judi 
cious  legislation  of  Congress,  securing  the  receivability  of  these 
notes  for  loans  and  internal  duties,  and  making  them  a  legal 
tender  for  other  debts,  has  made  them  a  universal  currency,  and 
has  satisfied,  partially  at  least,  and  for  the  time,  the  long  felt 
want  of  an  uniform  circulating  medium,  saving  thereby  to  the 
people  immense  sums  in  discounts  and  exchanges. 

A  return  to  specie  payments,  however,  at  the  earliest  period 
compatible  with  due  regard  to  all  interests  concerned,  should 
ever  be  kept  in  view.  Fluctuations  in  the  value  of  currency  are 
always  injurious,  and  to  reduce  these  fluctuations  to  the  lowest 
possible  point  will  always  be  a  leading  purpose  in  wise  legisla 
tion.  Convertibility,  prompt  and  certain  convertibility  into 
coin,  is  generally  acknowledged  to  be  the  best  and  surest  safe 
guard  against  them ;  and  it  is  extremely  doubtful  whether  a 
circulation  of  United  States  notes,  payable  in  coin,  and  suffici 
ently  large  for  the  wants  of  the  people,  can  be  permanently,  use 
fully,  and  safely  maintained. 

Is  there,  then,  any  other  mode  in  which  the  necessary  provision 
for  the  public  wants  can  be  made,  and  the  great  advantages  of 
a  safe  and  uniform  currency  secured  ? 

I  know  of  none  which  promises  so  certain  results,  and  is  at 
the  same  time  so  unobjectionable  as  the  organization  of  banking 
associations,  under  a  general  act  of  Congress,  well  guarded  in 
its  provisions.  To  such  associations  the  Government  might 
furnish  circulating  notes,  on  the  security  of  United  States  bonds 
deposited  in  the  Treasury.  These  notes,  prepared  under  the 
supervision  of  proper  officers,  being  uniform  in  appearance  and 
security,  and  convertible  always  into  coin,  would  at  once  pro 
tect  labor  against  the  evils  of  a  vicious  currency,  and  facilitate 
commerce  by  cheap  and  safe  exchanges. 

A  moderate  reservation  from  the  interest  on  the  bonds  would 
compensate  the  United  States  for  the  preparation  and  distribu 
tion  of  the  notes,  and  a  general  supervision  of  the  system,  and 
would  lighten  the  burden  of  that  part  of  the  public  debt 

7* 


154  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

employed  as  securities.  The  public  credit,  moreover,  would  be 
greatly  improved,  and  the  negotiation  of  new  loans  greatly  facil 
itated  by  the  steady  market  demand  for  Government  bonds 
which  the  adoption  of  the  proposed  system  would  create. 

It  is  an  additional  recommendation  of  the  measure,  of  con 
siderable  weight,  in  my  judgment,  that  it  would  reconcile  as 
far  as  possible  all  existing  interests,  by  the  opportunity  offered 
to  existing  institutions  to  reorganize  under  the  act,  substitut 
ing  only  the  secured  uniform  national  circulation  for  the  local 
and  various  circulation,  secured  and  unsecured,  now  issued  by 
them. 

The  receipts  into  the  Treasury,  from  all  sources,  including 
loans,  and  balance  from  the  preceding  year,  for  the  fiscal  year 
ending  on  the  30th  of  June,  1862,  were  $583,885,247  60,  of 
which  sum  $49,056,397  62  were  derived  from  customs ;  $1,795,- 
331  73  from  the  direct  tax ;  from  public  lauds,  $152,203  77 ; 
from  miscellaneous  sources,  $931,787  64 ;  from  loans  in  all  forms, 
$529,692,460  50.  The  remainder,  $2,257,065  80,  was  the  bal 
ance  from  last  year. 

The  disbursements  during  the  same  period  were  for  Congres 
sional,  Executive,  and  Judicial  purposes,  $5,939,009  29 ;  for  for 
eign  intercourse,  $1,339,710  35 ;  for  miscellaneous  expenses, 
including  the  mints,  loans,  post-office  deficiencies,  collection  of 
revenue,  and  other  like  charges,  $14,129,771  50;  for  expenses 
under  the  Interior  Department,  $3,102,985  52 ;  under  the  War 
Department,  $394,368,407  36 ;  under  the  Navy  Department, 
$42,674,569  69 ;  for  interest  on  the  public  debt,  $13,190,324  45 ; 
and  for  payment  of  public  debt,  including  reimbursement  of 
temporary  loan,  and  redemptions,  $96,096,922  09 ;  making  an 
aggregate  of  $570,841,700  25,  and  leaving  a  balance  in  the 
Treasury  on  the  1st  day  of  July,  1862,  of  $13,043,546  81. 

It  should  be  observed  that  the  sum  of  $96,096,922  09,  ex 
pended  for  reimbursements  and  redemption  of  public  debt, 
being  included  also  in  the  loans  made,  may  be  properly  de 
ducted,  both  from  receipts  and  expenditures,  leaving  the  actual 
receipts  for  the  year,  $487,788,324  97,  and  the  expenditures, 
$474,744,778  16. 

Other  information  on  the  subject  of  the  finances  will  be  found 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  155 

in  the  report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  to  whose  state 
ments  and  views  I  invite  your  most  candid  and  considerate 
attention. 

The  reports  of  the  Secretaries  of  War  and  of  the  Navy  are 
herewith  transmitted.  These  reports,  though  lengthy,  are 
scarcely  more  than  brief  abstracts  of  the  very  numerous  and 
extensive  transactions  and  operations  conducted  through  those 
Departments.  Nor  could  I  give  a  summary  of  them  here, 
upon  any  principle  which  would  admit  of  its  being  much  shorter 
than  the  reports  themselves.  I  therefore  content  myself  with 
laying  the  reports  before  you,  and  asking  your  attention  to 
them. 

It  gives  me  pleasure  to  report  a  decided  improvement  in  the 
financial  condition  of  the  Post-Office  Department,  as  compared 
with  several  preceding  years.  The  receipts  for  the  fiscal  year 
1861  amounted  to  $8,349,296  40,  which  embraced  the  revenue 
from  all  the  States  of  the  Union  for  three-quarters  of  that  year. 
Notwithstanding  the  cessation  of  revenue  from  the  so-called 
seceded  States  during  the  last  fiscal  year,  the  increase  of  the 
correspondence  of  the  loyal  States  has  been  sufficient  to  pro 
duce  a  revenue  during  the  same  year  of  $8,299,820  90,  being 
only  $50,000  less  than  was  derived  from  all  the  States  of  the 
Union  during  the  previous  year.  The  expenditures  show  a 
still  more  favorable  result.  The  amount  expended  in  1861  was 
$13,606,759  11.  For  the  last  year  the  amount  has  been  reduced 
to  $11,125,364  13,  showing  a  decrease  of  about  $2,481,000  in 
the  expenditures  as  compared  with  the  preceding  year,  and 
about  $3,750,000  as  compared  with  the  fiscal  year  1860.  The 
deficiency  in  the  Department  for  the  previous  year  was  $4,551,- 
966  98.  For  the  last  fiscal  year  it  was  reduced  to  $2,112,814  57. 
These  favorable  results  are  in  part  owing  to  the  cessation  of 
mail  service  in  the  insurrectionary  States,  and  in  part  to  a  care 
ful  review  of  all  expenditures  in  that  Department  in  the  inter 
est  of  economy.  The  efficiency  of  the  postal  service,  it  is 
believed,  has  also  been  much  improved.  The  Postmaster-Gen 
eral  has  also  opened  a  correspondence,  through  the  Department 
of  State,  with  foreign  governments,  proposing  a  convention  of 
postal  representatives  for  the  purpose  of  simplifying  the  rates 


156  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

of  foreign  postage,  and  to  expedite  the  foreign  mails.  This 
proposition,  equally  important  to  our  adopted  citizens  and  to 
the  commercial  interests  of  this  country,  has  been  favorably 
entertained  and  agreed  to  by  all  the  governments  from  whom 
replies  have  been  received. 

I  ask  the  attention  of  Congress  to  the  suggestions  of  the  Post 
master-General  in  his  report  respecting  the  further  legislation 
required,  in  his  opinion,  for  the  benefit  of  the  postal  service. 

The  Secretary  of  the  Interior  reports  as  follows  in  regard  to 
the  public  lands : 

"  The  public  lands  have  ceased  to  be  a  source  of  revenue. 
From  the  1st  July,  1861,  to  the  30th  September,  1862,  the  en 
tire  cash  receipts  from  the  sale  of  lands  were  $137,476  26 — a 
sum  much  less  than  the  expenses  of  our  laud  system  during  the 
same  period.  The  homestead  law,  which  will  take  effect  on  the 
1st  of  January  next,  offers  such  inducements  to  settlers  that 
sales  for  cash  cannot  be  expected,  to  an  extent  sufficient  to  meet 
the  expense  of  the  General  Land  Office,  and  the  cost  of  survey 
ing  and  bringing  the  land  into  market." 

The  discrepancy  between  the  sum  here  stated  as  arising  from 
the  sales  of  the  public  lands,  and  the  sum  derived  from  the  same 
source  as  reported  from  the  Treasury  Department,  arises,  I  un 
derstand,  from  the  fact  that  the  periods  of  time,  though  appa 
rently,  were  not  really  coincident  at  the  beginning-point — the 
Treasury  report  including  a  considerable  sum  now  which  had 
previously  been  reported  from  the  Interior — sufficiently  large 
to  greatly  overreach  the  sum  derived  from  the  three  months 
now  reported  upon  by  the  Interior,  and  not  by  the  Treasury. 

The  Indian  tribes  upon  our  frontiers  have,  during  the  past  year, 
manifested  a  spirit  of  insubordination,  and,  at  several  points, 
have  engaged  in  open  hostilities  against  the  white  settlements 
in  their  vicinity.  The  tribes  occupying  the  Indian  country 
south  of  Kansas  renounced  their  allegiance  to  the  United  States, 
and  entered  into  treaties  with  the  insurgents.  Those  who  re 
mained  loyal  to  the  United  States  were  driven  from  the  country. 
The  chief  of  the  Cherokees  has  visited  this  city  for  the  purpose 
of  restoring  the  former  relations  of  the  tribe  with  the  United 
States.  He  alleges  that  they  were  constrained,  by  superior 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  157 

force,  to  enter  into  treaties  with  the  insurgents,  and  that  the 
United  States  neglected  to  furnish  the  protection  which  their 
treaty  stipulations  required. 

In  the  month  of  August  last,  the  Sioux  Indians  in  Minnesota, 
attacked  the  settlements  in  their  vicinity  with  extreme  ferocity, 
killing,  indiscriminately,  men,  women,  and  children.  This  at 
tack  was  wholly  unexpected,  and  therefore  no  means  of  defence 
had  been  provided.  It  is  estimated  that  not  less  than  eight 
hundred  persons  were  killed  by  the  Indians,  and  a  large  amount 
of  property  was  destroyed.  How  this  outbreak  was  induced  is 
not  definitely  known,  and  suspicions,  which  may  be  unjust,  need 
not  to  be  stated.  Information  was  received  by  the  Indian  Bu 
reau,  from  different  sources,  about  the. time  hostilities  were 
commenced,  that  a  simultaneous  attack  was  to  be  made  upon 
the  white  settlements  by  all  the  tribes  between  the  Mississippi 
River  and  the  Rocky  Mountains.  The  State  of  Minnesota  has 
suffered  great  injury  from  this  Indian  war.  A  large  portion  of 
her  territory  has  been  depopulated,  and  a  severe  loss  has  been 
sustained  by  the  destruction  of  property.  The  people  of  that 
State  manifest  much  anxiety  for  the  removal  of  the  tribes  beyond 
the  limits  of  the  State,  as  a  guarantee  against  future  hostilities. 
The  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  will  furnish  foil  details.  I 
submit  for  your  especial  consideration,  whether  our  Indian  sys 
tem  shall  not  be  remodeled.  Many  wise  and  good  men  have 
impressed  me  with  the  belief  that  this  can  be  profitably  done. 

I  submit  a  statement  of  the  proceedings  of  commissioners, 
which  shows  the  progress  that  has  been  made  in  the  enterprise 
of  constructing  the  Pacific  railroad.  And  this  suggests  the  ear 
liest  completion  of  this  road,  and  also  the  favorable  action  of 
Congress  upon  the  projects  now  pending  before  them  for  en 
larging  the  capacities  of  the  great  canals  in  New  York  and  Illi 
nois,  as  being  of  vital  and  rapidly  increasing  importance  to  the 
whole  nation,  and  especially  to  the  vast  interior  region  herein 
after  to  be  noticed  at  some  greater  length.  I  purpose  having 
prepared  and  laid  before  you  at  an  early  day  some  interesting 
and  valuable  statistical  information  upon  this  subject.  The 
military  and  commercial  importance  of  enlarging  the  Elinois 
and  Michigan  canal,  and  improving  the  Illinois  River,  is  pre- 


158  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

sented  in  the  report  of  Col.  Webster  to  the  Secretary  of  War, 
and  now  transmitted  to  Congress.  I  respectfully  ask  attention 
to  it. 

To  carry  out  the  provisions  of  the  act  of  Congress  of  the  loth 
of  May  last,  I  have  caused  the  Department  of  Agriculture  of  the 
United  States  to  be  organized. 

The  commissioner  informs  me  that  within  the  period  of  a  few 
months  this  department  has  established  an  extensive  system  of 
correspondence  and  exchanges,  both  at  home  and  abroad,  which 
promises  to  effect  highly  beneficial  results  in  the  development 
of  a  correct  knowledge  of  recent  improvements  in  agriculture, 
in  the  introduction  of  new  products,  and  in  the  collection  of 
the  agricultural  statistics  of  the  different  States.  Also  that  it 
will  soon  be  prepared  to  distribute  largely  seeds,  cereals,  plants 
and  cuttings,  and  has  already  published  and  liberally  diffused 
much  valuable  inforinatidn  in  anticipation  of  a  more  elaborate 
report,  which  will  in  due  time  be  furnished,  embracing  some 
valuable  tests  in  chemical  science  now  in  progress  in  the  lab 
oratory. 

The  creation  of  this  department  was  for  the  more  immediate 
benefit  of  a  large  class  of  our  most  valuable  fellow-citizens ;  and 
I  trust  that  the  liberal  basis  upon  which  it  has  been  organized 
will  not  only  meet  your  approbation,  but  that  it  will  realize,  at 
no  distant  day,  all  the  fondest  anticipations  of  its  most  san 
guine  friends,  and  become  the  fruitful  source  of  advantage  to 
all  our  people. 

On  the  22d  day  of  September  last,  a  proclamation  was  issued 
by  the  Executive,  a  copy  of  which  is  herewith  submitted. 

In  accordance  with  the  purpose  expressed  in  the  second  par 
agraph  of  that  paper,  I  now  respectfully  call  your  attention  to 
what  may  be  called  "  compensated  emancipation." 

A  nation  may  be  said  to  consist  of  its  territory,  its  people, 
and  its  laws.  The  territory  is  the  only  part  which  is  of  certain 
durability.  "  One  generation  passeth  away,  and  another  gener 
ation  cometh,  but  the  earth  abideth  forever."  It  is  of  the  first 
importance  to  duly  consider  and  estimate  this  ever-enduring 
part.  That  portion  of  the  earth's  surface  which  is  owned  and 
inhabited  by  the  people  of  the  United  States,  is  well  adapted  to 


159 


the  home  of  one  national  family ;  and  it  is  not  well  adapted  for 
two  or  more.  Its  vast  extent,  and  Us  variety  of  climate  and 
productions,  are  of  advantage  in  this  age  for  one  people,  what 
ever  they  might  have  been  in  former  ages.  Steam,  telegraphs^ 
and  intelligence  have  brought  these  to  be  an  advantageous  com 
bination  for  one  united  people. 

In  the  Inaugural  Address  I  briefly  pointed  out  the  total  in 
adequacy  of  disunion  as  a  remedy  for  the  diflerenes  between  the 
people  of  the  two  sections.  I  did  so  in  language  which  I  can 
not  improve,  and  which,  therefore,  I  beg  to  repeat : 

';  One  section  of  our  country  believes  slavery  is  right,  and 
ought  to  be  extended,  while  the  other  believes  it  is  wrong,  and 
ought  not  to  be  extended.  This  is  the  only  substantial  dispute. 
The  fugitive  slave-clause  of  the  Constitution,  and  the  law  for  the 
suppression  of  the  foreign  slave-trade,  are  each  as  well  enforced, 
perhaps,  as  any  law  can  ever  be  in  a  community  where  the 
moral  sense  of  the  people  imperfectly  supports  the  law  itself. 
The  great  body  of  the  people  abide  by  the  dry  legal  obligation 
in  both  cases,  and  a  few  break  over  in  each.  This,  I  think,  can 
not  be  perfectly  cured ;  and  it  would  be  worse,  in  both  cases, 
after  the  separation  of  the  sections  than  before.  The  foreign 
slave-trade,  now  imperfectly  suppressed,  would  be  ultimately 
revived  without  restriction  in  one  section;  while  fugitive  slaves, 
now  only  partially  surrendered,  would  not  be  surrendered  at  all 
by  the  other. 

"  Physically  speaking,  we  can  not  separate.  We  can  not  re 
move  our  respective  sections  from  each  other,  nor  build  an  im 
passable  wall  between  them.  A  husband  and  wife  may  be  di 
vorced,  and  go  out  of  the  presence  and  beyond  the  reach  of 
each  other ;  but  the  different  parts  of  our  country  can  not  do 
this.  They  can  not  but  remain  face  to  face ;  and  intercourse, 
either  amicable  or  hostile,  must  continue  between  them.  Is  it 
possible,  then,  to  make  that  intercourse  more  advantageous  or 
more  satisfactory  after  separation  than  before?  Can  aliens 
make  treaties  easier  than  friends  can  make  laws  ?  Can  treaties 
be  more  faithfully  enforced  between  aliens  than  laws  can  among 
friends  ?  Suppose  you  go  to  war,  you  cun  not  fight  always;  and 
when,  after  much  loss  on  both  sides,  and  no  gain  on  either,  you 


160  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

cease  fighting,  the  identical  old  questions,  as  to  terms  of  inter 
course,  are  again  upon  you." 

There  is  no  line,  straight  or  crooked,  suitable  for  a  national 
boundary,  upon  which  to  divide.  Trace  through,  from  east  to 
west,  upon  the  line  between  the  free  and  slave  country,  and  we 
shall  find  a  little  more  than  one-third  of  its  length  are  rivers, 
easy  to  be  crossed,  and  populated,  or  soon  to  be  populated, 
thickly  upon  both  sides ;  while  nearly  all  its  remaining  length 
are  merely  surveyors'  lines,  over  which  people  may  walk  back 
and  forth  without  any  consciousness  of  their  presence.  No 
part  of  this  line  can  be  made  any  more  difficult  to  pass  by 
writing  it  down  on  paper  or  parchment  as  a  national  boundary. 
The  fact  of  separation,  if  it  comes,  gives  up,  on  the  part  of  the 
seceding  sections,  the  fugitive-slave  clause,  along  with  all  other 
constitutional  obligations  upon  the  section  seceded  from,  while 
I  should  expect  no  treaty  stipulation  would  ever  be  made  to 
take  its  place. 

But  there  is  another  difficulty.  The  great  interior  region, 
bounded  east  by  the  Alleghanies,  north  by  the  British  domin 
ions,  wrest  by  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  south  by  the  line  along 
which  the  culture  of  corn  and  cotton  meets,  and  which  includes 
part  of  Virginia,  part  of  Tennessee,  all  of  Kentucky,  Ohio, 
Indiana,  Michigan,  Wisconsin,  Illinois,  Missouri,  Kansas,  Iowa, 
Minnesota,  and  the  Territories  of  Dakota,  Nebraska,  and  part 
of  Colorado,  already  has  above  ten  millions  of  people,  and  will 
have  fifty  millions  within  fifty  years  if  not  prevented  by  any 
political  folly  or  mistake.  It  contains  more  than  one-third  of 
the  country  owned  by  the  United  States — certainly  more  than 
one  million  of  square  miles.  Once  half  as  populous  as  Massa 
chusetts  already  is,  it  would  have  more  than  seventy-five  millions 
of  people.  A  glance  at  the  map  shows  that,  territorially  speak 
ing,  it  is  the  great  body  of  the  Republic.  The  other  parts  are 
but  marginal  borders  to  it,  the  magnificent  region  sloping  west 
from  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  the  Pacific  being  the  deepest,  and 
also  the  richest  in  undeveloped  resources.  In  the  production 
of  provisions,  grains,  grasses,  and  all  which  proceed  from  them, 
this  great  interior  region  is  naturally  one  of  the  most  important 
of  the  world.  Ascertain  from  the  statistics  the  small  propor- 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  161 

tion  of  the  region  which  has  as  yet  been  brought  into  cultiva 
tion,  and  also  the  large  and  rapidly  increasing  amount  of  its 
products,  and  we  shall  be  overwhelmed  with  the  magnitude  of 
the  prospect  presented.  And  yet  this  region  has  no  seacoast — 
touches  no  ocean  anywhere.  As  part  of  one  nation,  its  people 
now  find,  and  may  forever  find,  their  way  to  Europe  by  New 
York,  to  South  America  and  Africa  by  New  Orleans,  and  to  Asia 
by  San  Francisco.  But  separate  our  common  country  into  two 
nations,  as  designed  by  the  present  rebellion,  and  evety  man  of 
this  great  interior  region  is  thereby  cut  off  from  some  one  or 
more  of  these  outlets,  not  perhaps  by  a  physical  barrier,  but  by 
embarrassing  and  onerous  trade  regulations. 

And  this  is  true,  wherever  a  dividing  or  boundary  line  may 
be  fixed.  Place  it  between  the  now  free  and  slave  country,  or 
place  it  south  of  Kentucky,  or  north  of  Ohio,  and  still  the 
truth  remains  that  none  south  of  it  can  trade  to  any  port  or 
place  north  of  it,  and  none  north  of  it  can  trade  to  any  port  or 
place  south  of  it  except  upon  terms  dictated  by  a  government 
foreign  to  them.  These  outlets,  east,  west,  and  south,  are 
indispensable  to  the  well-being  of  the  people  inhabiting  and  to 
inhabit  this  vast  interior  region.  Which  of  the  three  may  be 
the  best  is  no  proper  question.  All  are  better  than  either,  and 
all  of  right  belong  to  that  people  and  to  their  successors  forever. 
True  to  themselves,  they  will  not  ask  where  a  line  of  separa 
tion  shall  be,  but  will  vow  rather  that  there  shall  be  no  such 
line.  Nor  are  the  marginal  regions  less  interested  in  these 
communications  to  and  through  them  to  the  great  outside 
world.  They  too,  and  each  of  them,  must  have  access  to  this 
Egypt  of  the  West,  without  paying  toll  at  the  crossing  of  any 
national  boundary. 

Our  national  strife  springs  not  from  our  permanent  part ;  not 
from  the  land  we  inhabit ;  not  from  our  national  homestead. 
There  is  no  possible  severing  of  this  but  would  multiply  and 
not  mitigate  evils  among  us.  In  all  its  adaptations  and  apti 
tudes  it  demands  union  and  abhors  separation.  In  fact,  it 
would  ere  long  force  reunion,  however  much  of  blood  and 
treasure  the  separation  might  have  cost. 

Our  strife  pertains  to  ourselves — to  the  passing  generations 


162       THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

of  men  ;  and  it  can,  without  convulsion,  be  hushed  forever  with 
the  passing  of  one  generation. 

In  this  view,  I  recommend  the  adoption  of  the  following 
resolution  and  articles  amendatory  to  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States : 

Resolved  ly  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the 
United  States  of  America  in  Congress  assembled  (two-thirds  of 
both  Houses  concurring),  That  the  following  articles  be  pro 
posed  to  the  Legislatures  (or  Conventions)  of  the  several  States, 
as  amendments  to  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  all  or 
any  of  which  articles,  when  ratified  by  three-fourths  of  the  said 
Legislatures  (or  Conventions),  to  be  valid  as  part  or  parts  of  the 
said  Constitution,  viz : 

ARTICLE. — Every  State,  wherein  Slavery  now  exists,  which 
shall  abolish  the  same  therein  at  any  time  or  times  before  the 
first  day  of  January,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  and 
nine  hundred,  shall  receive  compensation  from  the  United 
States  as  follows,  to  wit : 

The  President  of  the  United  States  shall  deliver  to  every  such 
State  bonds  of  the  United  States,  bearing  interest  at  the  rate  of 

per  cent,  per  annum,  to  an  amount  equal  to  the  aggregate 

sum  of for  each  slave  shown  to  have  been  therein  by  the 

eighth  census  of  the  United  States,  said  bonds  to  be  delivered 
to  such  State  by  installments,  or  in  one  parcel,  at  the  comple 
tion  of  the  abolishment,  accordingly  as  the  same  shall  have 
been  gradual,  or  at  one  time,  within  such  State ;  and  interest 
shall  begin  to  run  upon  any  such  bond  only  from  the  proper 
time  of  its  delivery  as  aforesaid.  Any  State  having  received 
bonds  as  aforesaid,  and  afterwards  reintroducing  or  tolerating 
slavery  therein,  shall  refund  to  the  United  States  the  bonds 
BO  received,  or  the  value  thereof,  and  all  interest  paid  thereon. 

ARTICLE. — All  slaves  who  shall  have  enjoyed  actual  freedom 
by  the  chances  of  the  war,  at  any  time  before  the  end  of  the 
rebellion,  shall  be  forever  free ;  but  all  owners  of  such  who  shall 
not  have  been  disloyal  shall  be  compensated  for  them  at  the 
same  rates  as  is  provided  for  States  adopting  abolishment  of 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  163 

slavery,  but  in  such  way  that  no  slave  shall  be  twice  accounted 
for. 

ARTICLE. — Congress  may  appropriate  money,  and  otherwise 
provide  for  colonizing  free  colored  persons,  with  their  own 
consent,  at  any  place  or  places  without  the  United  States. 

I  beg  indulgence  to  discuss  these  proposed  articles  at  some 
lengtn.  Without  slavery  the  rebellion  could  never  have  existed ; 
without  slavery  it  could  not  continue. 

Among  the  friends  of  the  Union  there  is  great  diversity  of 
sentiment  and  of  policy  in  regard  to  slavery,  and  the  African 
race  amongst  us.  Some  would  perpetuate  slavery ;  some  would 
abolish  it  suddenly,  and  without  compensation ;  some  would 
abolish  it  gradually,  and  with  compensation ;  some  would 
remove  the  freed  people  from  us,  and  some  would  retain  them 
with  us  :  and  there  are  yet  other  minor  diversities.  Because  of 
those  diversities  we  waste  much  strength  among  ourselves.  By 
mutual  concession  we  should  harmonize  and  act  together.  This 
would  be  compromise  ;  but  it  would  be  compromise  among  the 
friends  and  not  the  enemies  of  the  Union.  These  articles  are 
intended  to  embody  a  plan  of  such  mutual  concessions.  If  the 
plan  shall  be  adopted,  it  is  assumed  that  emancipation  will  fol 
low  ni  at  least  several  of  the  States. 

As  to  the  first  article,  the  main  points  are  :  first,  the  emanci 
pation  ,  secondly,  the  length  of  time  for  consummating  it — 
thirty-seven  years ;  and,  thirdly,  the  compensation. 

The  emancipation  will  be  unsatisfactory  to  the  advocates  of 
perpetual  slavery ;  but  the  length  of  time  should  greatly  miti 
gate  their  dissatisfaction.  The  time  spares  both  races  from  the 
evils  of  sudden  derangement — in  fact,  from  the  necessity  of  any 
derangement;  while  most  of. those  whose  habitual  course  of 
thought  will  be  disturbed  by  the  measure  will  have  passed  away 
before  its  consummation.  They  will  never  see  it.  Another 
class  will  hail  the  prospect  of  emancipation,  but  will  deprecate 
the  length  of  time.  They  will  feel  that  it  gives  too  little  to  the 
now  living  slaves.  But  it  really  gives  them  much.  It  saves 
them  from  the  vagrant  destitution  which  must  largely  attend 
immediate  emancipation  in  localities  where  their  numbers  are 


164       THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

very  great ;  and  it  gives  the  inspiring  assurance  that  their  pos 
terity  shall  be  free  forever.  The  plan  leaves  to  each  State 
choosing  to  act  under  it,  to  abolish  slavery  now,  or  at  the  end 
of  the  century,  or  at  any  intermediate  time,  or  by  degrees,  ex 
tending  over  the  whole  or  any  part  of  the  period  ;  and  it  obliges 
no  two  States  to  proceed  alike.  It  also  provides  for  compensa 
tion,  and  generally  the  mode  ot  making  it.  This,  it  would 
seem,  must  further  mitigate  the  dissatisfaction  of  those  who 
favor  perpetual  slavery,  and  especially  of  those  who  are  to  re 
ceive  the  compensation.  Doubless  some  of  those  who  are  to 
pay  and  not  receive  will  object.  Yet  the  measure  is  both  just 
and  economical.  In  a  certain  sense  the  liberation  of  slaves  is 
the  destruction  of  property — property  acquired  by  descent  or 
by  purchase,  the  same  as  any  other  property.  It  is  no  less  true 
for  having  been  often  said,  that  the  people  of  the  South  are  not 
more  responsible  for  the  original  introduction  of  this  property 
than  are  the  people  of  the  North ;  and  when  it  is  remembered 
how  unhesitatingly  we  all  use  cotton  and  sugar,  and  share  the 
profits  of  dealing  in  them,  it  may  not  be  quite  safe  to  say  that 
the  South  has  been  more  responsible  than  the  North  for  its  con 
tinuance.  If,  then,  for  a  common  object  this  property  is  to  be 
sacrificed,  is  it  not  just  that  it  be  done  at  a  common  charge  ? 

And  if  with  less  money,  or  money  more  easily  paid,  we  can 
preserv^the  benefits  of  the  Union  by  this  means  than  we  can 
by  the  war  alone,  is  it  not  also  economical  to  do  it  ?  Let  us 
consider  it,  then.  Let  us  ascertain  the  sum  we  have  expended 
in  the  war  since  compensated  emancipation  was  proposed  last 
March,  and  consider  whether,  if  that  measure  had  been  promptly 
accepted  by  even  some  of  the  Slave  States,  the  same  sum  would 
not  have  done  more  to  close  the  war  than  has  been  otherwise 
done.  If  so,  the  measure  would  save  money,  and,  in  that  view, 
would  be  a  prudent  and  economical  measure.  Certainly  it  is 
not  so  easy  to  pay  something  as  it  is  to  pay  nothing ;  but  it  is 
easier  to  pay  a  large  sum  than  it  is  to  pay  a  larger  one.  And 
it  is  easier  to  pay  any  sum  when  we  are  able  than  it  is  to  pay  it 
before  we  are  able.  The  war  requires  large  sums,  and  requires 
them  at  once.  The  aggregate  sum  necessary  for  compensated 
emancipation  of  course  would  be  large.  But  it  would  require 


165 


no  ready  cash,  nor  the  bonds  even,  any  faster  than  emancipa 
tion  progresses.  This  might  not,  and  probably  would  not, 
close  before  the  end  of  the  thirty-seven  years.  At  that  time  we 
shall  probably  have  a  hundred  millions  of  people  to  share  the 
burden,  instead  of  thirty-one  millions,  as  now.  And  not  onty 
so,  but  the  increase  of  our  population  may  be  expected  to  con 
tinue  for  a  long  time  after  that  period  as  rapidly  as  before ;  be 
cause  our  territory  will  not  have  become  full.  I  do  not  state 
this  inconsiderately. 

At  the  same  ratio  of  increase  which  we  have  maintained,  on 
an  average,  from  our  first  national  census,  in  1790,  until  that  of 
1860,  we  should,  in  1900,  have  a  population  of  103,208,415. 
And  why  may  we  not  continue  that  ratio — far  beyond  that 
period  ?  Our  abundant  room — our  broad  national  homestead 
is  our  ample  resource.  Were  our  territory  as  limited  as  are  the 
British  Isles,  very  certainly  our  population  could  not  expand  as 
stated.  Instead  of  receiving  the  foreign  born  as  now,  we  should 
be  compelled  to  send  part  of  the  native  born  away.  But  such  is 
not  our  condition.  We  have  two  millions  nine  hundred  and  sixty- 
three  thousand  square  miles.  Europe  has  three  millions  and 
eight  hundred  thousand,  with  a  population  averaging  seventy- 
three  and  one-third  persons  to  the  square  mile.  Why  may  not 
our  country  at  some  time  average  as  many  ?  Is  it  less  fertile  ? 
Has  it  more  waste  surface,  by  mountains,  rivers,  lakes,  deserts 
or  other  causes  ?  Is  it  inferior  to  Europe  in  any  natural  advan 
tage  ?  If  then  we  are,  at  some  time,  to  be  as  populous  as  Eu 
rope,  how  soon  ?  As  to  when  this  may  be,  we  can  judge  by  the 
past  and  the  present ;  as  to  when  it  will  be,  if  ever,  depends 
much  on  whether  we  maintain  the  Union.  Several  of  our 
States  are  already  above  the  average  of  Europe — seventy-three 
and  a  third  to  the  square  mile.  Massachusetts  157 ;  Rhode 
Island  133  ;  Connecticut  99 ;  New  York  and  New  Jersey,  each 
80.  Also  two  other  great  States,  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio,  are 
not  far  below,  the  former  having  63  and  the  latter  59.  The 
States  already  above  the  European  average,  except  New  York, 
have  increased  in  as  rapid  a  ratio,  since  passing  that  point,  as  ever 
before ;  while  no  one  of  them  is  equal  to  some  other  parts  of  our 
country  in  natural  capacity  for  sustaining  a  dense  population. 


166  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

Taking  the  nation  in  the  aggregate,  and  we  find  its  population 
and  ratio  of  increase,  for  the  several  decennial  periods,  to  be 
as  follows : 


1799.. 

..    3,929,827 

1800.. 

.  .    5,305,937 

35.02  per  cent,  ratio 

of  increase. 

1810.. 

.  .    7,239,814 

36.45 

a 

u 

u 

1820.. 

.  .    9,638,131 

33.13 

it 

u 

u 

1830.. 

.  .  12,866,020 

33.49 

a 

u 

u 

1840.. 

.  .  17,069,453 

32.67 

a 

u 

U 

1850.. 

.  .  23,191,876 

35.87 

u 

u 

u 

I860.., 

.  .  31,443,790 

35.58 

u 

u 

u 

This  shows  an  average  decennial  increase  in  34.60  per  cent,  in 
population  through  the  seventy  years,  from  our  first  to  our  last 
census  yet  taken.  It  is  seen  that  the  ratio  of  increase,  at  r»o  one 
of  these  two  periods,  is  either  two  per  cent,  below  or  two  per 
cent,  above  the  average ;  thus  showing  how  inflexible,  and  Con 
sequently  how  reliable,  the  law  of  increase  in  our  case  is.  As 
suming  that  it  will  continue,  it  gives  the  following  results  • 

1870 42,323,341 

1880 56,966,216 

1890 76,677,872 

1900 103,208,415 

1910 138,918,526 

1920 186,984,335 

1930 251,680,914 

These  figures  show  that  our  country  may  be  as  populous  as 
Europe  now  is  at  some  point  between  1920  and  1930 — say  about 
1925 — our  territory,  at  seventy-three  and  a  third  persons  to  the 
square  mile,  being  of  capacity  to  contain  217,186,000. 

And  we  will  reach  this,  too,  if  we  do  not  ourselves  relinquish 
the  chance,  by  the  folly  and  evils  of  disunion,  or  by  long  and 
exhausting  wars  springing  from  the  only  great  element  of  na 
tional  discord  among  us.  While  it  cannot  be  foreseen  exactly 
how  much  one  huge  example  of  secession,  breeding  lesser  one? 


THE  MARTYR'S  -MONUMENT.  167 

indefinitely,  would  retard  population,  civilization,  and  prosper 
ity,  no  one  can  doubt  that  the  extent  of  it  would  be  very  great 
and  injurious. 

The  proposed  emancipation  would  shorten  the  war,  perpetu 
ate  peace,  insure  this  increase  of  peculation,  and  proportion 
ately  the  wealth  of  the  country.  With  these  we  should  pay  all 
the  emancipation  would  cost,  together  with  our  other  debt, 
easier  than  we  should  pay  our  other  debt  without  it.  If  we 
had  allowed  our  old  national  debt  to  run  at  six  per  cent,  per 
annum,  simple  interest,  from  the  end  of  our  Revolutionary 
struggle  until  to-day,  without  paying  anything  on  either  princi 
pal  or  interest,  each  man  of  us  would  owe  less  upon  that  debt 
now  than  each  man  owed  upon  it  then;  and  this  because  our 
increase  of  men,  through  the  whole  period,  has  been  greater 
than  six  per  cent. ;  has  run  faster  than  the  interest  upon  the 
debt.  Thus,  time  alone  relieves  a  debtor  nation,  so  long  as  its 
population  increases  faster  than  unpaid  interest  accumulates  on 
its  debt. 

This  fact  would  be  no  excuse  for  delaying  payment  of  what 
is  justly  due ;  but  it  shows  the  great  importance  of  time  in  this 
connection — the  great  advantage  of  a  policy  by  which  we  shall 
not  have  to  pay  until  we  number  a  hundred  millions,  what,  by 
a  different  policy,  we  would  have  to  pay  now,  when  we  number 
but  thirty-one  millions.  In  a  word,  it  shows  that  a  dollar  will 
be  much  harder  to  pay  for  the  war  than  will  be  a  dollar  for 
the  emancipation  on  the  proposed  plan.  And  then  the  latter 
will  cost  no  blood,  no  precious  life.  It  will  be  a  saving  of  both. 

As  to  the  second  article,  I  think  it  would  be  impracticable  to 
return  to  bondage  the  class  of  persons  therein  contemplated. 
Some  of  them,  doubtless,  in  the  property  sense,  belong  to  loyal 
owners ;  and  hence  provision  is  made  in  this  article  for  com 
pensating  such. 

The  third  article  relates  to  the  future  of  the  freed  people. 
It  does  not  oblige,  but  merely  authorizes  Congress  to  aid  in 
colonizing  such  as  may  consent.  This  ought  not  to  be  regarded 
as  objectionable  on  the  one  hand  or  on  the  other,  in  so  much  as 
it  comes  to  nothing  unless  by  the  mutual  consent  of  the  people 


168  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

to  be  deported,  and  the  American  voters  through  their  repre 
sentatives  in  Congress. 

I  can  not  make  it  better  known  than  it  already  is  that  I 
strongly  favor  colonization.  And  yet  I  wish  to  say  there  is 
an  objection  urged  against  free  colored  persons  remaining  in 
the  country  which  is  largely  imaginary,  if  not  sometimes  mali 
cious. 

It  is  insisted  that  their  presence  would  injure  and  displace 
white  labor  and  white  laborers.  If  there  ever  could  be  a  proper 
time  for  mere  catch  arguments,  that  time  surely  is  not  now. 
In  times  like  the  present  men  should  utter  nothing  for  which 
they  would  not  willingly  be  responsible  through  time  and  in 
eternity.  Is  it  true,  then,  that  colored  people  can  displace  any 
more  white  labor  by  being  free  than  by  remaining  slaves  ?  If  they 
stay  in  their  old  places  they  jostle  no  white  laborers ;  if  they 
leave  their  old  places  they  leave  them  open  to  white  laborers. 
Logically  there  is  neither  more  nor  less  of  it.  Emancipation 
even  without  deportation,  would  probably  enhance  the  wagea 
of  white  labor,  and,  very  surely,  would  not  reduce  them.  Thus 
the  customary  amount  of  labor  would  still  have  to  be  performed 
— the  freed  people  would  surely  not  do  more  than  their  old 
proportion  of  it,  and  very  probably  for  a  time  would  do  less, 
leaving  an  increased  part  to  white  laborers,  bringing  their 
labor  into  greater  demand,  and  consequently  enhancing  the 
wages  of  it.  With  deportation,  even  to  a  limited  extent, 
enhanced  wages  to  white  labor  is  mathematically  certain.  Labor 
is  like  any  other  commodity  in  the  market — increase  the  demand 
for  it  and  you  increase  the  price  of  it.  Reduce  the  supply  of 
black  labor,  by  colonizing  the  black  laborer  out  of  the  country, 
and  by  precisely  BO  much  you  increase  the  demand  for  and 
wages  of  white  labor. 

But  it  is  dreaded  that  the  freed  people  will  swarm  forth  and 
cover  the  whole  land  1  Are  they  not  already  in  the  land  ?  Will 
liberation  make  them  any  more  numerous  ?  Equally  distributed 
among  the  whites  of  the  whole  country,  there  would  be  but 
one  colored  to  seven  whites.  Could  the  one,  in  any  way,  greatly 
disturb  the  seven  ?  There  are  many  communities  now  having 
more  than  one  free  colored  person  to  seven  whites ;  and  this, 


169 


without  any  apparent  consciousness  of  evil  from  it.  The  Dis 
trict  of  Columbia  and  the  States  of  Maryland  and  Delaware 
are  all  in  this  condition.  The  District  has  more  than  one  free 
colored  to  six  whites ;  and  yet,  in  its  frequent  petitions  to  Con 
gress,  I  believe  it  has  never  presented  the  presence  of  free  col 
ored  persons  as  one  of  its  grievances.  But  why  shoul$  eman 
cipation  South  send  the  freed  people  North  ?  People  of  any 
color  seldom  run  unless  there  be  something  to  run  from.  Here 
tofore  colored  people,  to  some  extent,  have  fled  North  from 
bondage;  and  now,  perhaps,  from  bondage  and  destitution- 
But  if  gradual  emancipation  and  deportation  be  adopted  they 
will  have  neither  to  flee  from.  Their  old  masters  will  give 
them  wages,  at  least  until  new  laborers  can  be  procured,  and  the 
freed  men  in  turn  will  gladly  give  their  labor  for  the  wages  till 
new  homes  can  be  found  for  them  in  congenial  climes,  and  with 
people  of  their  own  blood  and  race.  This  proposition  can  be 
trusted  on  the  mutual  interests  involved.  And  in  any  event, 
can  not  the  North  decide  for  itself  whether  to  receive  them  ? 

Again,  as  practice  proves  more  than  theory,  in  any  case,  has 
there  been  any  irruption  of  colored  people  northward  because 
of  the  abolishment  of  slavery  in  this  District  last  spring  ? 

What  I  have  said  of  the  proportion  of  free  colored  persons 
to  the  whites  in  the  District  is  from  the  census  of  1860,  having 
no  reference  to  persons  called  contrabands,  nor  to  those  made 
free  by  the  act  of  Congress,  abolishing  slavery  here. 

The  plan  consisting  of  these  articles  is  recommended,  not  but 
that  a  restoration  of  national  authority  would  be  accepted  with 
out  its  adoption. 

Nor  will  the  war,  nor  proceedings  under  the  proclamation  of 
September  22,  1862,  be  stayed  because  of  the  recommendation 
of  this  plan.  Its  timely  adoption,  I  doubt  not,  would  bring 
restoration,  and  thereby  stay  both. 

And,  notwithstanding  this  plan,  the  recommendation  that 
Congress  provide  by  law  for  compensating  any  State  which 
may  adopt  emancipation  before  this  plan  shall  have  been  acted 
upon,  is  hereby  earnestly  renewed.  Such  would  be  only 
an  advanced  part  of  the  plan,  and  the  same  arguments  apply 
to  both. 


170 


This  plan  is  recommended  as  a  means  not  in  exclusion  of, 
but  additional  to,  all  others  for  restoring  and  preserving  the 
national  authority  throughout  the  Union.  The  subject  is 
presented  exclusively  in  its  economical  aspect.  The  plan 
would,  I  am  confident,  secure  peace  more  speedily,  and  main 
tain  it  more  permanently,  than  can  be  done  by  force  alone ; 
while  all  it  would  cost,  considering  amounts,  and  manner  of 
payment,  and  times  of  payment,  would  be  easier  paid  than 
will  be  the  additional  cost  of  the  war,  if  we  solely  rely  upon 
force.  It  is  much — very  much — that  it  would  cost  no  blood 
at  all. 

The  plan  is  proposed  as  permanent  constitutional  law.  It 
can  not  become  such,  without  the  concurrence  of,  first,  two- 
thirds  of  Congress,  and  afterward  three-fourths  of  the  States. 
The  requisite  three-fourths  of  the  States  will  necessarily  include 
seven  of  the  Slave  States.  Their  concurrence,  if  obtained,  will 
give  assurance  of  their  severally  adopting  emancipation,  at  no 
very  distant  day,  upon-  the  new  constitutional  terms.  This 
assurance  would  end  the  struggle  now,  and  save  the  Union 
forever. 

I  do  not  forget  the  gravity  which  should  characterize  a  paper 
addressed  to  the  Congress  of  the  nation  by  the  Chief  Magis 
trate  of  the  nation.  Nor  do  I  forget  that  some  of  you  are  my 
seniors ;  nor  that  many  of  you  have  more  experience  than  I  in 
the  conduct  of  public  affairs.  Yet  I  trust  that,  in  view  of  the 
great  responsibility  resting  upon  me,  you  will  perceive  no  want 
of  respect  to  yourselves  in  any  undue  earnestness  I  may  seem 
to  display. 

Is  it  doubted,  then,  that  the  plan  I  propose,  if  adopted,  would 
shorten  the  war,  and  thus  lessen  its  expenditure  of  money  and 
of  blood?  Is  it  doubted  that  it  would  restore  the  national 
authority  and  national  prosperity,  and  perpetuate  both  indefi 
nitely  ?  Is  it  doubted  that  we  here — Congress  and  Executive — 
can  secure  its  adoption  ?  Will  not  the  good  people  respond  to 
a  united  and  earnest  appeal  from  us  ?  Can  we,  can  they,  by 
any  other  means,  so  certainly  or  so  speedily  assure  these  vital 
objects?  We  can  succeed  only  by  concert.  It  is  not  "can 
any  of  us  imagine  better?"  but  "can  we  all  do  better?" 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  171 

Object  whatsoever  is  possible,  still  the  question  recurs,  "  can  we 
do  better  ?"  The  dogmas  of  the  quiet  past  are  inadequate  to 
the  stormy  present.  The  occasion  is  piled  high  with  difficulty, 
and  we  must  rise  with  the  occasion.  As  our  case  is  new,  so  we 
must  think  anew,  and  act  anew.  We  must  disenthrall  ourselves, 
and  then  we  shall  save  our  country. 

Fellow-citizens,  we  cannot  escape  history.  We  of  this  Con 
gress  and  this  Administration  will  be  remembered  in  spite  of 
ourselves.  No  personal  significance  or  insignificance  can  spare 
one  or  another  of  us.  The  fiery  trial  through  which  we  pass 
will  light  us  down  in  honor  or  dishonor  to  the  latest  generation. 
We  say  that  we  are  for  the  Union.  The  world  will  not  forget  that 
we  say  this.  We  know  how  to  save  the  Union.  The  world 
knows  we  do  know  how  to  save  it.  We — even  we  here — hold 
the  power  and  bear  the  responsibility.  In  giving  freedom  to 
the  slave  we  assure  freedom  to  the  free — honorable  alike  in  what 
we  give  and  what  we  preserve.  We  shall  nobly  save  or  meanly 
lose  the  last  best  hope  of  earth.  Other  means  may  succeed, 
this  could  not,  Cannot  fail.  The  way  is  plain,  peaceful,  gener 
ous,  just — a  way,  which,  if  followed,  the  world  will  forever  ap 
plaud  and  God  must  forever  bless.  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

December  1,  1862. 

TO    FERNANDO    WOOD    ON   THE   WAR. 

Prominent  among  the  apostles  of  Peace  and  the  advo 
cates  of  a  cessation  of  the  war  upon  the  rebels  by  the 
Government,  was  Mr.  Fernando  Wood,  formerly  Mayor 
of  New  York.  To  one  of  his  letters,  urging  his  views  on 
that  subject,  the  President  made  the  following  conclusive 
reply.  History,  to  which  Mr.  Lincoln  was  willing  to 
leave  his  treatment  of  this  question,  has  already  justified  it : 

EXECUTIVE  MANSION,  WASHINGTON,  December  12,  1862. 

Hon.  Fernando  Wood— My  Dear  Sir— Your  letter  of  the  8th, 
with  the  accompanying  note  of  same  date,  was  received  yester 
day. 

The  most  important  paragraph  in  the  letter,  as  I  consider,  is 


172  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

in  these  words  :  "  On  the  25th  of  November  last  I  was  advised 
by  an  authority  which  I  deemed  likely  to  be  well  informed,  as 
well  as  reliable  and  truthful,  that  the  Southern  States  would 
send  representatives  to  the  next  Congress,  provided  that  a  full 
and  general  amnesty  should  permit  them  to  do  so.  No  guaran 
tee  or  terms  were  asked  for  other  than  the  amnesty  referred  to." 

I  strongly  suspect  your  information  will  prove  to  be  ground 
less  ;  nevertheless,  T  thank  you  for  communicating  it  to  me. 
Understanding  the  phrase  in  the  paragraph  above  quoted — "  the 
Southern  States  would  send  representatives  to  the  next  Con 
gress" — to  be  substantially  the  same  as  that  "  the  people  of  the 
Southern  States  would  cease  resistance,  and  would  reinaugurate, 
submit  to,  and  maintain  the  national  authority  within  the  limits 
of  such  States,  under  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,"  I 
say  that  in  such  case  the  war  would  cease  on  the  part  of  the 
United  States ;  and  that  if  within  a  reasonable  time  "  a  full  and 
general  amnesty"  were  necessary  to  such  end,  it  would  not  be 
withheld. 

I  do  not  think  it  would  be  proper  now  to  communicate  this, 
formally,  or  informally,  to  the  people  of  the  Southern  States. 
My  belief  is  that  they  already  know  it ;  and  when  they  choose,  it 
ever,  they  can  communicate  with  me  unequivocally.  Nor  do  I 
think  it  proper  now  to  suspend  military  operations  to  try  any 
experiment  of  negotiation. 

I  should  nevertheless  receive,  with  great  pleasure,  the  exact 
information  you  now  have,  and  also  such  other  as  you  may  in 
any  way  obtain.  Such  information  might  be  more  valuable  be 
fore  the  1st  of  January  than  afterward. 

While  there  is  nothing  in  this  letter  which  I  shall  dread  to 
see  in  history,  it  is,  perhaps,  better  for  the  present  that  its 
existence  should  not  become  public.  I  therefore  have  to  request 
that  you  will  regard  it  as  confidential. 

Your  obedient  servant,  A.  LINCOLN. 

MESSAGE   ON   THE   FINANCES. 

One  of  the  most  important  measures  of  this  session 
of  Congress  was  the  passage  of  an  act  authorizing  the 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.       173 

issue  of  $100,000.000,  in  Treasury  notes,  the  main  pur 
pose  of  which  was  the  payment  of  the  army  and  navy. 
President  Lincoln  promptly  affixed  his  signature  to  the 
bill;  but  he  returned  it  accompanied  by  the  following 
message,  in  which  he  set  forth  views  of  the  financial  con 
dition  of  the  country,  the  wisdom  of  which  after-expe 
rience  fully  sustained  : 

MESSAGE. 

To  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives : 

I  have  signed  the  joint  resolution  to  provide  for  the  imme 
diate  payment  of  the  army  and  navy  of  the  United  States,  passed 
by  the  House  of  Representatives  on  the  14th,  and  by  the  Senate 
on  the  15th  inst.  The  joint  resolution  is  a  simple  authority, 
amounting,  however,  under  the  existing  circumstances,  to  a  di 
rection  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to  make  an  additional 
issue  of  $100,000,000  in  United  States  notes,  if  so  much  money 
is  needed,  for  the  payment  of  the  army  and  navy.  My  approval 
is  given  in  order  that  every  possible  facility  may  be  afforded  for 
the  prompt  discharge  of  all  arrears  of  pay  due  to  our  soldiers  and 
our  sailors. 

While  giving  this  approval,  however,  I  think  it  my  duty  to 
express  my  sincere  regret  that  it  has  been  found  necessary  to 
authorize  so  large  an  additional  issue  of  United  States  notes^ 
when  this  circulation,  and  that  of  the  suspended  banks  together, 
have  become  already  so  redundant  as  to  increase  prices  beyond 
real  values,  thereby  augmenting  the  cost  of  living,  to  the  injury 
of  labor,  and  the  cost  of  supplies,  to  the  injury  of  the  whole 
country.  It  seems  very  plain  that  continued  issues  of  United 
States  notes,  without  any  check  to  the  issues  of  suspended 
banks,  and  without  adequate  provision  for  the  raising  of  money 
by  loans,  and  for  funding  the  issues,  so  as  to  keep  them  within 
due  limits,  must  soon  produce  disastrous  consequences;  and 
this  matter  appears  to  me  so  important  that  I  feel  bound  to 
avail  myself  of  this  occasion  to  ask  the  special  attention  of 
Congress  to  it. 


174 


That  Congress  has  power  to  regulate  the  currency  of  the 
country  can  hardly  admit  of  doubt,  and  that  a  judicious  meas 
ure  to  prevent  the  deterioration  of  this  currency,  by  a  reason 
able  taxation  of  bank  circulation,  or  otherwise,  is  needed,  seems 
equally  clear.  Independently  of  this  general  consideration,  it 
would  be  unjust  to  the  people  at  large  to  exempt  banks  enjoy 
ing  the  special  privilege  of  circulation,  from  their  just  propor 
tion  of  the  public  burdens. 

In  order  to  raise  money  by  way  of  loans  most  easily  and 
cheaply,  it  is  clearly  necessary  to  give  every  possible  support  to 
the  public  credit.  To  that  end,  a  uniform  currency,  in  which 
taxes,  subscriptions,  loans,  and  all  other  ordinary  public  dues 
may  be  paid,  is  almost  if  not  quite  indispensable.  Such  a  cur 
rency  can  be  furnished  by  banking  associations  authorized  un 
der  a  general  act  of  Congress,  as  suggested  in  my  message  at  the 
beginning  of  the  present  session.  The  securing  of  this  circula 
tion  by  the  pledge  of  the  United  States  bonds,  as  herein  sug 
gested,  would  still  further  facilitate  loans,  by  increasing  the 
present  and  causing  a  future  demand  for  such  bonds. 

In  view  of  the  actual  financial  embarrassments  of  the  Govern 
ment,  and  of  the  greater  embarrassment  sure  to  come  if  the 
necessary  means  of  relief  be  not  afforded,  I  feel  that  I  should 
not  perform  my  duty  by  a  simple  announcement  of  my  approval 
of  the  joint  resolution,  which  proposes  relief  only  by  increasing 
the  circulation,  without  expressing  my  earnest  desire  that  meas 
ures,  such  in  substance  as  that  I  have  just  referred  to,  may  re 
ceive  the  early  sanction  of  Congress.  By  such  measures,  in  my 
opinion,  will  payment  be  most  certainly  secured,  not  only  to  the 
army  and  navy,  but  to  all  honest  creditors  of  the  Government, 
and  satisfactory  provisions  made  for  future  demands  on  the 
Treasury.  ABRAHAM  LLNCOKN. 

PROCLAMATION    OF   EMANCIPATION. 

The  first  day  of  the  year  1863  was  signalized  by  the 
issuing  of  a  Proclamation  of  Emancipation  according  to  the 
President's  promise  in  his  preliminary  proclamation.  It 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  175 

not  only  declared  the  persons  mentioned  in  it  free,  but 
announced  that  they  would  be  received  into  the  service 
of  the  Government. 

PROCLAMATION. 

Whereas,  on  the  22d  day  of  September,  in  the  year  of  our 
Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty-two,  a  proclama 
tion  was  issued  by  the  President  of  the  United  States,  contain 
ing,  among  other  things,  the  following,  to  wit : 

That  on  the  first  day  of  January,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty-three,  all  persons  held  as 
slaves  within  any  States  or  designated  part  of  a  State,  the  peo 
ple  whereof  shall  then  be  in  rebellion  against  the  United  States, 
shall  be  then,  thenceforward,  and  forever  free ;  and  the  Execu 
tive  Government  of  the  United  States,  including  the  military 
and  naval  authority  thereof,  will  recognize  and  maintain  the 
freedom  of  such  persons,  and  will  do  no  act  or  acts  to  repress 
such  persons,  or  any  of  them,  in  any  efforts  they  may  make  for 
their  actual  freedom. 

That  the  Executive  will,  on  the  first  day  of  January  aforesaid, 
by  proclamation,  designate  the  States  and  parts  of  States,  if  any, 
in  which  the  people  thereof  respectively  shall  then  be  in  rebel 
lion  against  the  United  States ;  and  the  fact  that  any  State,  or 
the  people  thereof  shall  on  that  day  be  in  good  faith  represented 
in  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  by  members  chosen  thereto 
at  elections  wherein  a  majority  of  the  qualified  voters  of  such 
State  shall  have  participated,  shall,  in  the  absence  of  strong 
countervailing  testimony,  be  deemed  conclusive  evidence  that 
such  State,  and  the  people  thereof,  are  not  then  in  rebellion 
against  the  United  States. 

Now,  therefore,  I  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  President  of  the  United 
States,  by  virtue  of  the  power  in  me  vested  as  Commander-in- 
Chief  of  the  Army  and  Navy  of  the  United  States  in  time  of 
actual  armed  rebellion  against  the  authority  and  Government 
of  the  United  States,  and  as  a  tit  and  necessary  war  measure  for 
suppressing  said  rebellion,  do,  on  this  first  day  of  January,  in 
the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty- 


176  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

three,  and  in  accordance  with  my  purpose  so  to  do,  publicly 
proclaimed  for  the  full  period  of  one  hundred  days,  from  the 
day  first  above  mentioned,  order  and  designate,  as  the  States 
and  parts  of  States  wherein  the  people  thereof  respectively  are 
this  day  in  rebellion  against  the  United  States,  the  following, 
to  wit : 

Arkansas,  Texas,  Louisiana  (except  the  parishes  of  St.  Ber 
nard,  Plaquemines,  Jefferson,  St.  John,  St.  Charles,  St.  James, 
Ascension,  Assumption,  Terre  Bonne,  Lafourche,  St.  Marie,  St. 
Martin  and  Orleans,  including  the  city  of  New  Orleans),  Missis 
sippi,  Alabama,  Florida,  Georgia,  South  Carolina,  North  Caro 
lina,  and  Virginia  (except  the  forty-eight  counties  designated  as 
West  Virginia,  and  also  the  counties  of  Berkely,  Accomac, 
Northampton,  Elizabeth  City,  York,  Princess  Anne,  and  Nor 
folk,  including  the  cities  of  Norfolk  and  Portsmouth),  and 
which  excepted  parts  are  for  the  present  left  precisely  as  if  this 
proclamation  were  not  issued. 

And  by  virtue  of  the  power  and  for  the  purpose  aforesaid,  I 
do  order  and  declare  that  all  persons  held  as  slaves  within  said 
designated  States  and  parts  of  States  are  and  henceforward  shall 
be  free;  and  that  the  Executive  Government  of  the  United 
States,  including  the  military  and  naval  authorities  thereof,  will 
recognize  and  maintain  the  freedom  of  said  persons. 

And  I  hereby  enjoin  upon  the  people  so  declared  to  be  free  to 
abstain  from  all  violence,  unless  in  necessary  self-defence ;  and 
I  recommend  to  them  that,  in  all  cases  when  allowed,  they  labor 
faithfully  for  reasonable  wages. 

And  I  further  declare  and  make  known  that  such  persons,  of 
suitable  condition,  will  be  received  into  the  armed  service  of 
the  United  States  to  garrison  forts,  positions,  stations,  and  other 
places,  and  to  man  vessels  of  all  sorts  in  said  service. 

And  upon  this  act,  sincerely  believed  to  be  an  act  of  justice 
warranted  by  the  Constitution  upon  military  necessity,  I  invoke 
the  considerate  judgment  of  mankind,  and  the  gracious  favor 
of  Almighty  God. 

In  testimony  whereof,  I  have  hereunto  set  my  name,  and 
caused  the  seal  of  the  United  States  to  be  affixed. 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  177 

Done  at  the  city  of  Washington,  this  first  day  of  January,  in  the 

year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty- 

[L.  s.]  three,  and  of  the  independence  of  the  United  States  the 

eighty- seventh.  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

By  the  President : 
WM.  H.  SKWARD,  Secretary  of  State. 

LETTERS   TO   BRITISH    WORKINGMEN. 

The  workingmen  in  some  of  the  large  cities  of  Great 
Britain  showed  themselves  almost  from  the  beginning  of 
the  rebellion  friendly  to  the  cause  of  the  Republic,  al 
though  they  suffered  from  the  consequences  of  the  war. 
In  two  of  these  cities — Manchester  and  London — at  large 
meetings  they  adopted  addresses  which  were  sent  to  Mr. 
Lincoln,  and  to  these  he  made  the  following  replies  : 

EXECUTIVE  MANSION,  WASHINGTON,  Jan.  19,  1S63. 

To  the  Workingmen  of  Manchester : — I  have  the  honor  to  ac 
knowledge  the  receipt  of  the  address  and  resolutions  which 
you  sent  me  on  the  eve  of  the  new  year.  When  I  came  on  the 
4th  of  March,  1861,  through  a  free  and  constitutional  election, 
to  preside  in  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  the  country 
was  found  at  the  verge  of  civil  war.  Whatever  might  have 
been  the  cause,  or  whosesoever  the  fault,  one  duty,  paramount 
to  all  others,  was  before  me,  namely,  to  maintain  and  preserve 
at  once  the  Constitution  and  the  integrity  of  the  Federal 
Republic.  A  conscientious  purpose  to  perform  this  duty,  is 
the  key  to  all  the  measures  of  administration  which  have  been, 
and  to  all  which  will  hereafter  be  pursued.  Under  our  frame 
of  government  and  my  official  oath,  I  could  not  depart  from 
this  purpose  if  I  would.  It  is  not  always  in  the  power  of  gov 
ernments  to  enlarge  or  restrict  the  scope  of  moral  results  which 
follow  the  policies  that  they  may  deem  it  necessary,  for  the 
public  safety,  from  time  to  time  to  adopt. 

I  have  understood  well  that  the  duty  of  self-preservation  rests 
solely  with  the  American  people.  But  I  have  at  the  same  time 


178  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

been  aware  that  favor  or  disfavor  of  foreign  nations  might  have 
a  material  influence  in  enlarging  or  prolonging  the  struggle 
with  disloyal  men  in  which  the  country  is  engaged.  A  fair 
examination  of  history  has  served  to  authorize  a  belief  that  the 
past  actions  and  influences  of  the  United  States,  were  generally 
regarded  as  having  been  beneficial  toward  mankind.  I  have, 
therefore,  reckoned  upon  the  forbearance  of  nations.  Circum 
stances — to  some  of  which  you  kindly  allude — induced  me 
especially  to  expect  that  if  justice  and  good  faith  should  be 
practised  by  the  United  States,  they  would  encounter  no  hostile 
influence  on  the  part  of  Great  Britain.  It  is  now  a  pleasant 
duty  to  acknowledge  the  demonstration  you  have  given  of  your 
desire  that  a  spirit  of  amity  and  peace  toward  this  country  may 
prevail  in  the  councils  of  your  Queen,  who  is  respected  and 
esteemed  in  your  own  country  only  more  than  she  is  by  the 
kindred  nation  which  has  its  home  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic. 
I  know,  and  deeply  deplore  the  sufferings  which  the  working- 
men  at  Manchester,  and  in  all  Europe,  are  called  to  endure  in 
this  crisis.  It  has  been  often  and  studiously  represented  that 
the  attempt  to  overthrow  this  Government,  which  was  built 
upon  the  foundation  of  human  rights,  and  to  substitute  for  it 
one  which  should  rest  exclusively  on  the  basis  of  human  slavery, 
was  likely  to  obtain  the  favor  of  Europe.  Through  the  action 
of  our  disloyal  citizens,  the  workingmcn  of  Europe  have  been 
subjected  to  severe  trials,  for  the  purpose  of  forcing  their  sanc 
tion  to  that  attempt.  Under  the  circumstances,  I  cannot  but 
regard  your  decisive  utterances  upon  the  question  as  an  instance 
of  sublime  Christian  heroism,  which  has  not  been  surpassed  in 
any  age  or  in  any  country.  It  is  indeed  an  energetic  and 
reinspiring  assurance  of  the  inherent  power  of  truth,  and  of  the 
ultimate  and  universal  triumph  of  justice,  humanity,  and  free 
dom.  I  do  not  doubt  that  the  sentiments  you  have  expressed 
will  be  sustained  by  your  great  nation,  and  on  the  other  hand, 
I  have  no  hesitation  in  assuring  you  that  they  will  excite  admira 
tion,  esteem,  and  the  most  reciprocal  feelings  of  friendship 
among  the  American  people.  I  hail  this  interchange  of  senti 
ment,  therefore,  as  an  augury  that  whatever  else  may  happen, 
whatever  misfortune  may  befall  your  country  or  my  own,  the 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  179 

peace  and  friendship  which  now  exist  between  the  two  nations 
will  be,  as  it  shall  be  my  desire  to  make  them,  perpetual. 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

EXECUTIVE  MANSION,  WASHINGTON,  Feb.  2,  1863. 

To  the  Workingmen  of  London : — I  have  received  the  New 
Year's  Address  wThich  you  have  sent  me,  with  a  sincere  appre 
ciation  of  the  exalted  and  humane  sentiments  by  which  it  was 
inspired. 

As  these  sentiments  are  manifestly  the  enduring  support  of 
the  free  institutions  of  England,  so  I  am  sure  also  that  they 
constitute  the  only  reliable  basis  for  free  institutions  through 
out  the  world. 

The  resources,  advantages,  and  powers  of  the  American  peo 
ple  are  very  great,  and  they  have  consequently  succeeded  to 
equally  great  responsibilities.  It  seems  to  have  devolved  upon 
them  to  test  whether  a  government  established  on  the  princi 
ples  of  human  freedom,  can  be  maintained  against  an  effort  to 
build  one  upon  the  exclusive  foundation  of  human  bondage. 
They  will  rejoice  with  me  in  the  new  evidences  which  your 
proceedings  furnish,  that  the  magnanimity  they  are  exhibiting 
is  justly  estimated  by  the  true  friends  of  freedom  and  humanity 
in  foreign  countries. 

Accept  my  best  wishes  for  your  individual  welfare,  and  for 
the  welfare  and  happiness  of  the  whole  British  people. 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

THE    CHRISTIAN    COMMISSION 

received  from  the  President  the  following  characteristic 
approval  of  its  benevolent  organization : 

EXECUTIVE  MANSION,  WASHINGTON,  February  22,  1S63. 

Rev.  Alexander  Meed — My  Dear  Sir — Your  note,  by  which  you, 
as  General  Superintendent  of  the  U.  S.  Christian  Commission, 
invite  me  to  preside  at  a  meeting  to  be  held  this  day,  at  the  hall 
of  the  House  of  Representatives  in  this  city,  is  received. 

While,  for  reasons  which  I  deem  sufficient,  I  must  decline  to 


180  TIIE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

preside,  I  cannot  withhold  my  approval  of  the  meeting,  and  its 
worthy  objects.  Whatever  shall  be,  sincerely  and  in  God's 
name,  devised  for  the  good  of  the  soldiers  and  seamen  in  their 
hard  spheres  of  duty,  can  scarcely  fail  to  be  blessed.  And  what 
ever  shall  tend  to  turn  our  thoughts  from  the  unreasoning  and 
uncharitable  passions,  prejudices,  and  jealousies  incident  to  a 
great  national  trouble  such  as  ours,  and  to  fix  them  on  the  vast 
and  long-enduring  consequences,  for  weal  or  for  woe,  which  are 
to  result  from  the  struggle,  and  especially  to  strengthen  our  reli 
ance  on  the  Supreme  Being  for  the  final  triumph  of  the  right, 
cannot  but  be  well  for  us  all. 

The  birthday  of  Washington  and  the  Christian  Sabbath  coin 
ciding  this  year,  and  suggesting  together  the  highest  interests 
of  this  life  and  of  that  to  come,  is  most  propitious  for  the 
meeting  proposed. 

Your  obedient  servant,  A.  LINCOLN. 

HALF-MADE    CITIZENS  OF   FOREIGN   BIRTH. 

The  endeavor  of  many  aliens  who  wished  to  obtain  the 
advantage  of  citizenship  of  the  Republic  without  in 
curring  its  responsibilitieSj  were  met  by  Mr.  Lincoln  in 
the  following 

PROCLAMATION. 

WASHINGTON,  May  8,  1863. 

By  the  President  of  the  United  States  of  America,  a  Proclama 
tion —  Whereas,  The  Congress  of  the  United  States,  at  its  last 
session,  enacted  a  law,  entitled  "An  act  for  enrolling  and  calling 
out  the  national  forces,  and  for  other  purposes,"  which  wa?  ap 
proved  on  the  3d  day  of  March  last ;  and 

Whereas,  It  is  recited  in  the  said  act  that  there  now  exists  in 
the  United  States  an  insurrection  and  rebellion  against  the  au 
thority  thereof,  and  it  is,  under  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States,  the  duty  of  the  Government  to  suppress  insubordination 
and  rebellion,  to  guarantee  to  each  State  a  republican  form  of 
government,  and  to  preserve  the  public  tranquillity ;  and 


i 
181 


Whereas,  For  these  high  purposes,  a  military  force  is  indis 
pensable,  to  raise  and  support  which  all  persons  ought  willingly 
to  contribute;  and 

Whereas,  No  service  can  be  more  praiseworthy  and  honorable 
than  that  which  is  rendered  for  the  maintenance  of  the  Consti 
tution  and  the  Union,  and  the  consequent  preservation  of  free 
government;  and 

Whereas,  For  the  reasons  thus  recited  it  was  enacted  by  the 
said  statute  that  all  able-bodied  male  citizens  of  the  United 
States,  and  persons  of  foreign  birth  who  shall  have  declared 
on  oath  their  intentions  to  become  citizens  under  and  in  pursu 
ance  of  the  laws  thereof,  between  the  ages  of  twenty  and  forty- 
five  ye,ars,  with  certain  exemptions  not  necessary  to  be  here 
mentioned,  are  declared  to  constitute  the  national  forces,  and 
shall  be  liable  to  perform  military  duty  in  the  service  of  the 
United  States,  when  called  out  by  the  President  fo^  that  pur 
pose  ;  and 

Whereas,  It  is  claimed,  on  and  in  behalf  of  persons  of  foreign 
birth,  within  the  ages  specified  in  said  act,  who  have  heretofore 
declared  on  oath  their  intention  to  become  citizens  under  and 
in  pursuance  to  the  laws  of  the  United  States,  and  who  have 
not  exercised  the  right  of  suffrage  or  any  other  political  fran 
chise  under  the  laws  of  the  United  States,  or  of  any  of  the  States 
thereof,  that  they  are  not  absolutely  precluded  by  their  afore 
said  declaration  of  intention  from  renouncing  their  purpose  to 
become  citizens ;  and  that,  on  the  contrary,  such  persons,  under 
treaties  and  the  law  of  nations,  retain  a  right  to  renounc"  that 
purpose,  and  to  forego  the  privilege  of  citizenship  and  residence 
within  the  United  States,  under  the  obligations  imposed  by  the 
aforesaid  act  of  Congress : 

Now,  therefore,  to  avoid  all  misapprehensions  concerning  the 
liability  of  persons  concerned  to  perform  the  service  required  by 
such  enactment,  and  to  give  it  full  effect,  I  do  hereby  order  and 
proclaim  that  no  plea  of  alienage  will  be  received,  or  allowed 
to  exempt  from  the  obligations  imposed  by  the  aforesaid  act  of 
Congress  any  person  of  foreign  birth  who  shall  have  declared 
on  oath  his  intention  to  become  a  citizen  of  the  United  States 
under  the  laws  thereof,  and  who  shall  be  found  within  the  Uni 


* 
182       THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

ted  States  at  any  time  during  the  continuance  of  the  present 
insurrection  and  rebellion,  at  or  after  the  expiration  of  the  pe 
riod  of  sixty-five  days  from  the  date  of  this  proclamation ;  nor 
shall  any  such  plea  of  alienage  be  allowed  in  favor  of  any  such 
person  who  has  so,  as  aforesaid,  declared  his  intention  to  be 
come  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  and  shall  have  exercised  at 
any  time  the  right  of  suffrage,  or  any  other  political  franchise 
within  the  United  States,  under  the  laws  thereof,  or  under  the 
laws  of  any  of  the  several  States. 

In  witness  whereof,  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand,  and  caused 
the  seal  of  the  United  States  to  be  affixed. 

Done  at  the  city  of  Washington  this  8th  day  of  May,  in  the 
[L.  s.]     year  of  our  Lord  1863,  and  of  the  independence  of 

the  United  States  the  eighty-seventh. 
By  the  President :  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

WM.  H.  SEWARD,  Secretary  of  State. 

THE    UNCONDITIONAL    EMANCIPATIONISTS    IN   MISSOURI. 

In  Missouri  there  was  a  division  of  opinion  among  the 
loyal  men  upon  the  subject  of  slavery.  One  party  was  for 
doing  it  away  instantly  and  completely,  and  without  regard 
to  consequences ;  the  other  for  gradual  emancipation.  Gen. 
Curtio,  in  command  of  that  district,  was  of  the  former 
party ;  and  Governor  Gamble,  being  of  the  latter,  would 
not  turn  over  the  militia  of  the  State  to  General  Curtis. 
This  state  of  things  produced  a  disgraceful  feud,  which 
disgusted  the  country  and  worried  the  President  for  a 
long  time.  He  finally,  in  May  of  this  year,  removed 
General  Curtis,  and  to  a  remonstrance  thereupon,  sent 
the  following  reply,  which  showed  how  he  could  "put 
down  his  foot"  when  occasion  required: 

Your  dispatch  of  to-day  is  just  received.  It  is  very  painful 
to  me  that  you,  in  Missouri,  cannot,  or  will  not,  settle  your  fac 
tional  quarrel  among  yourselves.  I  have  been  tormented  with 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  183 

it  beyond  endurance,  for  months,  by  both  sides.  Neither  side 
pays  the  least  respect  to  my  appeals  to  your  reason.  I  am  now 
compelled  to  take  hold  of  the  case.  A.  LINCOLN. 

» 

General  Curtis  was  superseded  by  General  Schofield, 
to  whom  Mr.  Lincoln  addressed  the  following  letter : 

EXECUTIVE  MANSION,  WASHINGTON,  May  27,  1863. 

General  J.  N.  Schofield — Dear  Sir — Having  removed  General 
Curtis  and  assigned  you  to  the  command  of  the  Department  of 
the  Missouri,  I  think  it  may  be  of  some  advantage  to  me  to  state 
to  you  why  I  did  it.  I  did  not  remove  General  Curtis  because 
of  my  full  conviction  that  he  had  done  wrong  by  commission  or 
omission.  I  did  it  because  of  a  conviction  in  my  mind  that  the 
Union  men  of  Missouri,  constituting,  when  united,  a  vast  ma 
jority  of  the  people,  have  entered  into  a  pestilent,  factious 
quarrel,  among  themselves,  General  Curtis,  perhaps  not  of 
choice,  being  the  head  of  one  faction,  and  Governor  Gamble  that 
of  the  other.  After  months  of  labor  to  reconcile  the  difficulty,  it 
seemed  to  grow  worse  and  worse,  until  I  felt  it  my  duty  to  break 
it  up  somehow,  and  as  I  could  not  remove  Governor  Gamble  I  had 
to  remove  General  Curtis.  Now  that  you  are  in  the  position,  I 
wish  you  to  undo  nothing  merely  because  General  Curtis  or 
Governor  Gamble  did  it,  but  to  exercise  your  own  judgment, 
and  do  right  for  the  public  interest.  Let  your  military  measures 
be  strong  enough  to  repel  the  invaders  and  keep  the  peace,  and 
not  so  strong  as  to  unnecessarily  harass  and  persecute  the  peo 
ple.  It  is  a  difficult  role,  and  so  much  greater  will  be  the  honor 
if  you  perform  it  well.  If  both  factions  or  neither  shall  abuse 
you,  you  will  probably  be  about  right.  Beware  of  being  assailed 
by  one  and  praised  by  the  other. 

Yours  truly,  A.  LINCOLN. 

At  this  action  the  Germans  of  St.  Louis  thought  proper 
to  take  umbrage ;  and  they  also  thought  it  proper  to  de 
pute  one  of  their  number  to  wait  upon  the  President 
with  their  remonstrances,  not  only  against  his  course  in 
this  matter,  but  in  many  others,  demanding,  among  other 


184  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

things,  some  changes  in  the  Cabinet  and  the  removal  of 
General  Halleck  from  his  position  of  commander-in-chief. 
What  sort  of  reception  these  foreign  gentlemen  met  with 
from  Mr.  Lincoln,  is  very  vividly  set  forth  in  the  follow 
ing  report  of  the  interview  of  the  President  with  their 
deputy,  made  by  himself: 

Messrs.  Emile  Pretorious,  Theodore  Olshausen,  E.  E.  Rombaur, 
etc. — Gentlemen — During  a  professional  visit  to  Washington  city, 
I  presented  to  the  President  of  the  United  States,  in  compliance 
with  your  instructions,  a  copy  of  the  resolutions  adopted  in 
mass  meeting  at  St.  Louis,  on  the  10th  of  May,  1863,  and  I  re 
quested  a  reply  to  the  suggestions  therein  contained.  The 
President,  after  a  careful  and  loud  reading  of  the  whole  report 
of  proceedings,  saw  proper  to  enter  into  a  conversation  of  two 
hours'  duration,  in  the  course  of  which  most  of  the  topics  em 
braced  in  the  resolutions  and  other  subjects  were  discussed. 

As  my  share  in  the  conversation  is  of  secondary  importance, 
I  propose  to  omit  it  entirely  in  this  report,  and,  avoiding  details, 
to  communicate  to  you  the  substance  of  noteworthy  remarks 
made  by  the  President. 

1.  The  President  said  that  it  may  be  a  misfortune  for  the 
nation  that  he  was  elected  President.     But,  having  been  elected 
by  the  people,  he  meant  to  be  President,  and  perform  his  duty 
according  to  his  best  understanding,  if  he  had  to  die  for  it.     No 
General  will  be  removed,  nor  will  any  change  in  the  Cabinet  be 
made,  to  suit  the  views  or  wishes  of  any  particular  party,  faction, 
or  set  of  men.     General  Halleck  is  not  guilty  of  the  charges 
made  against  him,  most  of  which  arise  from  misapprehension  or 
ignorance  of  those  who  prefer  them. 

2.  The  President  said  that  it  was  a  mistake  to  suppose  that 
Generals  John  C.  Fremont,  B.  F.  Butler,  and  F.  Sigel  are  "  sys 
tematically  kept  out  of  command,"  as  stated  in  the  fourth  reso 
lution  ;  that,  on  the  contrary,  he  fully  appreciated  the  merits  of 
the  gentlemen  named;   that  by  their  own  actions  they  had 
placed  themselves  in  the  positions  which  they  occupied ;  that 
he  was  not  only  willing,  but  anxious  to  place  them  again  in  com- 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  185 

mand  as  soon  as  he  could  find  spheres  of  action  for  them,  with 
out  doing  injustice  to  others,  but  that  at  present  he  "  had  more 
pegs  than  holes  to  put  them  in." 

3.  As  to  the  want  of  unity,  the  President,  without  admitting 
such  to  be  the  case,  intimated  that  each  member  of  the  Cabinet 
was  responsible  mainly  for  the  manner  of  conducting  the  affairs 
of  his  particular  department ;  that  there  was  no  centralization 
of  responsibility  for  the  action  of  the  Cabinet  anywhere,  except 
in  the  President  himself. 

4.  The  dissensions  between  Union  men  in  Missouri  are  due 
solely  to  a  factious  spirit  which  is  exceedingly  reprehensible. 
The  two  parties  "  ought  to  have  their  heads  knocked  together." 
"  Either  would  rather  see  the  defeat  of  their  adversary  than 
that  of  Jefferson  Davis."     To  this  spirit  of  faction  is  to  be  as 
cribed  the  failure  of  the  Legislature  to  elect  Senators  and  the 
defeat  of  the  Missouri  Aid  Bill  in  Congress,  the  passage  of 
which  the  President  strongly  desired. 

The  President  said  that  the  Union  men  in  Missouri  who  are 
in  favor  of  gradual  emancipation  represented  his  views  better 
than  those  who  are  in  .favor  of  immediate  emancipation.  In 
explanation  of  his  views  on  this  subject,  the  President  said  that 
in  his  speeches  he  had  frequently  used  as  an  illustration  the 
case  of  a  man  who  had  an  excrescence  on  the  back  of  his  neck, 
the  removal  of  which,  in  one  operation,  would  result  in  the  death 
of  the  patient,  while  "  tinkering  it  off  by  degrees"  would  pre 
serve  life.  Although  sorely  tempted,  I  did  not  reply  with  the 
illustration  of  the  dog  whose  tail  was  amputated  by  inches,  but 
confined  myself  to  arguments.  The  President  announced  clearly 
that,  as  far  as  he  was  at  present  advised,  the  Radicals  in  Missouri 
had  no  right  to  consider  themselves  the  exponents  of  hi*  views  on  the 
subject  of  emancipation  in  that  State. 

5.  General  Curtis  was  not  relieved  on  account  of  any  wrong 
act  or  great  mistake  committed  by  him.     The  System  of  Pro 
vost-Marshals,  established  by  him  throughout  the  State,  gave 
rise  to  violent  complaint.     That  the  President  had  thought  at 
one  time  to  appoint  General  Fremont  in  his  place ;    that  at 
another  time  he  thought  of  appointing   General   McDowell, 
whom  he  characterised  as  a  good  and  loyal  though  very  unfor- 


186  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

tunate  soldier ;  and  that,  at  last,  General  Schofield  was  appointed, 
with  a  view,  if  possible,  to  reconcile  and  satisfy  the  two  factions 
in  Missouri.  He  has  instructions  not  to  interfere  with  either 
party,  but  to  confine  himself  to  his  military  duties.  I  assure 
you,  gentlemen,  that  our  side  was  as  fully  presented  as  the  occa 
sion  permitted.  At  the  close  of  the  conversation,  the  President 
remarked  that  there  was  evidently  a  "  serious  misunderstand 
ing"  springing  up  between  him  and  the  Germans  of  St.  Louis, 
which  he  would  like  to  see  removed.  Observing  to  him  that 
the  difference  of  opinion  related  to  facts,  men,  and  measures,  1 
withdrew.  I  am,  very  respectfully,  etc., 

JAMES  TAUSSIG. 


THE   VALLANDIGHAM    CASE. 

Among  the  most  active  supporters  that  the  rebellion 
found  in  the  Free  States,  was  the  Hon.  C.  C.  Vallandigham, 
Member  of  the  House  from  Ohio,  who  opposed  all  meas 
ures  for  the  prosecution  of  the  war,  denounced  Mr. 
Lincoln's  Government  as  endeavoring  to  establish  a  des 
potism,  and  advocated  the  calling  in  of  a  foreign  govern 
ment  to  settle  the  dispute  between  the  rebels  and  the 
National  Government.  Finally  it  WHS  at  a  public  meet 
ing  at  Mount  Vernon,  Ohio — he  proclaimed  his  intention 
of  disobeying  an  order  issued  by  General  Burnside,  in 
command  of  the  Department,  and  called  upon  the  people 
to  set  it  at  naught  and  resist  its  execution.  For  this  he 
was  arrested  by  General  Burnside,  and,  after  vain  appli 
cations  to  the  Circuit  Court  for  a  writ  of  habeas  corpus, 
tried  by  a  military  commission,  found  guilty,  and  sen 
tenced  to  close  confinement  in  Fort  Wsirren.  This  sen 
tence  the  President  commuted  to  banishment  within  the 
rebel  lines,  which  was  immediately  carried  into  effect. 

These  occurrences  were  seized  upon  by  the  sympathis- 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.       187 

ers  with  the  rebels,  who  held  meetings  at  various  places 
over  the  country  to  denounce  what  one  of  the  most  dis 
tinguished  of  their  number,  Governor  Seymour,  of  New 
York,  called  the  establishment  of  military  despotism. 
These  words  he  used  in  a  letter  addressed  to  the  organiz 
ers  of  one  of  the  meetings  in  question,  which  was  held  in 
Albany,  on  the  16th  of  May.  The  resolutions  of  this 
meeting  were  transmitted  to  the  President  by  Mr.  Eras- 
tus  Corning,  the  chairman,  to  whom  Mr.  Lincoln  sent 
the  following  reply : 

EXECUTIVE  MANSION,  WASHINGTON,  June  13, 1863. 

HON.  ERASTUS  CORNING  AND  OTHERS  : 

Gentlemen — Your  letter  of  May  19,  inclosing  the  resolutions 
of  a  public  meeting  held  at  Albany,  N.  Y.,  on  the  16th  of  the 
same  month,  was  received  several  days  ago. 

The  resolutions,  as  I  understand  them,  are  resolvable  into  two 
propositions — first,  the  expression  of  a  purpose  to  sustain  the 
cause  of  the  Union,  to  secure  peace  through  victory,  and  to 
support  the  Administration  in  every  constitutional  and  lawful 
measure  to  suppress  the  rebellion ;  and,  secondly,  a  declaration 
of  censure  upon  the  Administration  for  supposed  unconstitu 
tional  action,  such  as  the  making  of  military  arrests.  And 
from  the  two  propositions  a  third  is  deduced,  which  is,  that  the 
gentlemen  composing  the  meeting  are  resolved  on  doing  their 
part  to  maintain  our  common  Government  and  country,  despite 
the  folly  or  wickedness,  as  they  may  conceive,  of  any  Adminis 
tration.  This  position  is  eminently  patriotic,  and  as  such  I 
thank  the  meeting  and  congratulate  the  nation  for  it.  My 
own  purpose  is  the  same,  so  that  the  meeting  and  myself  have 
a  common  object,  and  can  have  no  difference,  except  in  the 
choice  of  means  or  measures  for  effecting  that  object. 

And  here  I  ought  to  close  this  paper,  and  would  close  it,  if 
there  were  no  apprehensions  that  more  injurious  consequences 
than  any  merely  personal  to  myself  might  follow  the  censures 
systematically  cast  upon  me  for  doing  what,  in  my  view  of  duty, 


188  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

I  could  not  forbear.  The  resolutions  promise  to  support  me 
in  every  constitutional  and  lawful  measure  to  suppress  the 
rebellion,  and  I  have  not  knowingly  employed,  nor  shall  know 
ingly  employ,  any  other.  But  the  meeting,  by  their  resolutions, 
assert  and  argue  that  certain  military  arrests,  and  proceedings 
following  them,  for  which  I  am  ultimately  responsible,  are 
unconstitutional.  I  think  they  are  not.  The  resolutions  quote 
from  the  Constitution  the  definition  of  treason,  and  also  the 
limiting  safeguards  and  guarantees  therein  provided  for  the 
citizen  on  trial  for  treason,  and  on  his  being  held  to  answer  for 
capital  or  otherwise  infamous  crime,  and,  in  criminal  prosecu 
tions,  his  right  to  a  speedy  and  public  trial  by  an  impartial  jury. 
They  proceed  to  resolve,  "that  these  safeguards  of  the  rights  of 
the  citizen  against  the  pretensions  of  arbitrary  power  were 
intended  more  especially  for  his  protection  in  times  of  civil 
commotion." 

And,  apparently  to  demonstrate  the  proposition,  the  resolu 
tions  proceed :  "  They  were  secured  substantially  to  the  English 
people  after  years  of  protracted  civil  war,  and  were  adopted 
into  our  Constitution  at  the  close  of  the  Revolution."  Would 
not  the  demonstration  have  been  better  if  it  could  have  been 
truly  said  that  these  safeguards  had  been  adopted  and  applied 
during  the  civil  wars  and  during  our  Revolution,  instead  of  aftef 
the  one  and  at  the  close  of  the  other  ?  I,  too,  am  devotedly  for 
them  after  civil  war,  and  before  civil  war,  and  at  all  times,  "  ex 
cept  when,  in  cases  of  rebellion  or  invasion,  tlie  public  safety 
may  require"  their  suspension.  The  resolutions  proceed  to  tell 
us  that  these  safeguards  "  have  stood  the  test  of  seventy-six 
years  of  trial,  under  our  republican  system,  under  circumstances 
which  show  that,  while  they  constitute  the  foundation  of  all 
free  government,  they  are  the  elements  of  the  enduring  sta 
bility  of  the  Republic."  No  one  denies  that  they  have  so 
stood  the  test  up  to  the  beginning  of  the  present  rebellion,  if 
we  except  a  certain  occurrence  at  New  Orleans ;  nor  does  any 
one  question  that  they  will  stand  the  same  test  much  longer 
after  the  rebellion  closes.  But  these  provisions  of  the  Consti 
tution  have  no  application  to  the  case  we  have  in  hand,  because 
the  arrests  complained  of  were  not  made  for  treason — that  is, 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  189 

not  for  the  treason  defined  in  the  Constitution,  and  upon  con 
viction  of  which  the  punishment  is  death — nor  yet  were  they 
made  to  hold  persons  to  answer  for  any  capital  or  otherwise  in 
famous  crimes ;  nor  were  the  proceedings  following,  in  any  con 
stitutional  or  legal  sense,  "  criminal  prosecutions."  The  arrests 
were  made  on  totally  difterent  grounds,  and  the  proceedings 
following  accorded  with  the  grounds  of  the  arrest.  Let  us  con 
sider  the  real  case  with  which  we  are  dealing,  and  apply  to  it 
the  parts  of  the  Constitution  plainly  made  for  such  cases. 

Prior  to  my  installation  here,  it  had  been  inculcated  that  any 
State  had  a  lawful  right  to  secede  from  the  national  Union,  and 
that  it  would  be  expedient  to  exercise  the  right  whenever  the 
devotees  of  the  doctrine  should  fail  to  elect  a  President  to  their 
own  liking.  I  was  elected  contrary  to  their  liking,  and  accord 
ingly,  so  far  as  it  was  legally  possible,  they  had  taken  seven 
States  out  of  the  Union,  had  seized  many  of  the  United  States 
forts,  and  fired  upon  the  United  States  flag,  all  before  I  was  in 
augurated,  and,  of  course,  before  I  had  done  any  official  act 
whatever.  The  rebellion  thus  began  soon  ran  into  the  present 
civil  war ;  and,  in  certain  respects,  it  began  on  very  unequal 
terms  between  the  parties.  The  insurgents  had  been  preparing 
for  it  for  more  than  thirty  years,  while  the  Government  had 
taken  no  steps  to  resist  them.  The  former  had  carefully  con 
sidered  all  the  means  which  could  be  turned  to  their  account. 
It  undoubtedly  was  a  well-pondered  reliance  with  them  that,  in 
their  own  unrestricted  efforts  to  destroy  Union,  Constitution, 
and  law  altogether,  the  Government  would,  in  great  degree,  be 
restrained  by  the  same  Constitution  and  law  from  arresting  their 
progress.  Their  sympathizers  pervaded  all  departments  of  the 
Government,  and  nearly  all  communities  of  the  people.  From 
this  material,  under  cover  of  "liberty  of  speech,"  "liberty  of 
the  press,"  and  u  habeas  corpus,"  they  hoped  to  keep  on  foot 
among  us  a  most  efficient  corps  of  spies,  informers,  suppliers, 
and  aiders  and  abettors  of  their  cause  in  a  thousand  ways. 
They  knew  that  in  times  such  as  they  were  inaugurating,  by 
the  Constitution  itself,  the  u  habeas  corpus"  might  be  suspended ; 
but  they  also  knew  they  had  friends  who  would  make  a  ques 
tion  as  to  who  was  to  suspend  it ;  meanwhile,  their  spies  and 


190  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

others  might  remain  at  large  to  help  on  their  cause.  Or  if,  as 
has  happened,  the  Executive  should  suspend  the  writ,  without 
ruinous  waste  of  time,  instances  of  arresting  innocent  persons 
might  occur,  as  are  always  likely  to  occur  in  such  cases,  and 
then  a  clamor  could  be  raised  in  regard  to  this  which  might  be, 
at  least,  of  some  service  to  the  insurgent  cause.  It  needed  no 
very  keen  perception  to  discover  this  part  of  the  enemy's  pro 
gramme,  so  soon  as,  by  open  hostilities,  their  machinery  was 
put  fairly  in  motion.  Yet,  thoroughly  imbued  with  a  reverence 
for  the  guaranteed  rights  of  individuals,  I  was  slow  to  adopt  the 
strong  measures  which  by  degrees  I  have  been  forced  to  regard 
as  being  within  the  exceptions  of  the  Constitution,  and  as  indis 
pensable  to  the  public  safety.  Nothing  is  better  known  to  his 
tory  than  that  courts  of  justice  are  utterly  incompetent  in  such 
cases.  Civil  courts  are  organized  chiefly  for  trials  of  individ 
uals,  or,  at  most,  a  few  individuals  acting  in  concert,  and  this 
in  quiet  times,  and  on  charges  of  crimes  well  defined  in  the 
law.  Even  in  times  of  peace,  bands  of  horse-thieves  and  rob 
bers  frequently  grow  too  numerous  and  powerful  for  the  ordi 
nary  courts  of  justice.  But  what  comparison,  in  numbers,  have 
such  bands  ever  borne  to  the  insurgent  sympathizers  even  in 
many  of  the  loyal  States?  Again,  a  jury  too  frequently  has  at 
least  one  member  more  ready  to  hang  the  panel  than  to  hang 
the  traitor.  And  yet,  again,  he  who  dissuades  one  man  from 
volunteering,  or  induces  one  soldier  to  desert,  weakens  the 
Union  cause  as  much  as  he  who  kills  a  Union  soldier  in  battle. 
Yet  this  dissuasion  or  inducement  may  be  so  conducted  as  to  be 
no  defined  crime  of  which  any  civil  court  would  take  cognizance. 
Ours  is  a  case  of  rebellion  — so  called  by  the  resolution  before 
me — in  fact,  a  clear,  flagrant,  and  gigantic  case  of  rebellion ; 
and  the  provision  of  the  Constitution  that  "  the  privilege  of  the 
writ  of  habeas  corpus  shall  not  be  suspended  unless  when,  in 
cases  of  rebellion  or  invasion,  the  public  safety  may  require  it," 
is  the  provision  which  specially  applies  to  our  present  case. 
This  provision  plainly  attests  the  understanding  of  those  who 
made  the  Constitution,  that  ordinary  courts  of  justice  are  inade 
quate  to  "  cases  of  rebellion1' — attests  their  purpose  that,  in 
such  cases,  men  may  be  held  in  custody  whom  the  courts,  acting 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  191 

on  ordinary  rules,  would  discharge.  Habeas  corpus  does  not  dis 
charge  men  who  are  proved  to  be  guilty  of  defined  crime ;  and  its 
suspension  is  allowed  by  the  Constitution  on  purpose  that  men 
may  be  arrested  and  held  who  cannot  be  proved  to  be  guilty  of 
defined  crime,  "  when,  in  cases  of  rebellion  or  invasion,  the  public 
safety  may  require  it."  This  is  precisely  our  present  case — a  case 
of  rebellion,  wherein  the  public  safety  does  require  the  suspension. 
Indeed,  arrests  by  process  of  courts,  and  arrests  in  cases  of  rebellion, 
do  not  proceed  altogether  upon  the  same  basis.  The  former  is 
directed  at  the  small  percentage  of  ordinary  and  continuous  per 
petration  of  crime  ;  while  the  latter  is  directed  at  sudden  and 
extensive  uprisings  against  the  government,  which  at  most  will 
succeed  or  fail  in  no  great  length  of  time.  In  the  latter  case 
arrests  are  made,  not  so  much  for  what  has  been  done  as  for 
what  probably  would  be  done.  The  latter  is  more  for  the  pre 
ventive  and  less  for  the  vindictive  than  the  former.  In  such 
cases  the  purposes  of  men  are  much  more  easily  understood 
than  in  cases  of  ordinary  crime.  The  man  who  stands  by  and 
says  nothing  when  the  peril  of  his  government  is  discussed, 
cannot  be  misunderstood.  If  not  hindered,  he  is  sure  to  help 
the  enemy  ;  much  more,  if  he  talks  ambiguously — talks  for  his 
country  with  "  buts,"  and  "ifs"  and  "  ands."  Of  how  little 
value  the  constitutional  provisions  I  have  quoted  will  be  ren 
dered,  if  arrests  shall  never  be  made  until  defined  crimes  shall 
have  been  committed,  may  be  illustrated  by  a  few  notable  ex 
amples.  Gen.  John  C.  Breckinridge,  Gen.  Robert  E.  Lee,  Gen. 
Joseph  E.  Johnston,  Gen.  John  B.  Magruder,  Gen.  Wm.  B.  Pres 
ton,  Gen.  Simon  B.  Buckner,  and  Commodore  Franklin  Buchanan, 
now  occupying  the  very  highest  places  in  the  rebel  war  service, 
were  all  within  the  power  of  the  Government  since  the  rebellion 
began,  and  were  nearly  as  well  known  to  be  traitors  then  as 
now.  Unquestionably,  if  we  had  seized  and  held  them,  the 
insurgent  cause  would  be  much  weaker.  But  no  one  of  them 
had  then  committed  any  crime  defined  in  the  law.  Every  one 
of  them,  if  arrested,  would  have  been  discharged  on  habeas  cor 
pus,  were  the  writ  allowed  to  operate.  In  view  of  these  and 
similar  cases,  I  think  the  time  not  unlikely  to  come  when  I  shall 
be  blamed  for  having  made  too  few  arrests  rather  than  too  many. 


192       THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

By  the  third  resolution,  the  meeting  indicate  their  opinion 
that  military  arrests  may  be  constitutional  in  localities  where 
rebellion  actually  exists,  but  that  such  arrests  are  unconstitutional 
in  localities  where  rebellion  or  insurrection  does  not  actually  exist. 
They  insist  that  such  arrests  shall  not  be  made  u  outside  of  the 
lines  of  necessary  military  occupation  and  the  scenes  of  insurrec 
tion."  Inasmuch,  however,  as  the  Constitution  itself  makes  no 
such  distinction,  I  am  unable  to  believe  that  there  is  any  such  con 
stitutional  distinction.  I  concede  that  the  class  of  arrests  com 
plained  of  can  be  constitutional  only  when,  in  cases  of  rebellion 
or  invasion,  the  public  safety  may  require  them :  and  I  insist 
that  in  such  cases  they  are  constitutional  wherever  the  public 
safety  does  require  them ;  as  well  in  places  to  which  they  may 
prevent  the  rebellion  extending  as  in  those  where  it  may  be 
already  prevailing  ;  as  well  where  they  may  restrain  mischiev 
ous  interference  with  the  raising  and  supplying  of  armies  to 
suppress  the  rebellion,  as  where  the  rebellion  may  actually  be ; 
as  well  where  they  may  restrain  the  enticing  men  out  of  the 
army,  as  where  they  would  prevent  mutiny  in  the  army; 
equally  constitutional  at  all  places  where  they  will  conduce  to 
the  public  safety,  as  against  the  dangers  of  rebellion  or  invasion. 
Take  the  particular  case  mentioned  by  the  meeting.  It  is  asserted, 
in  substance,  that  Mr.  Vallandigham  was,  by  a  military  comman 
der,  seized  and  tried  "for  no  other  reason  than  words  addressed 
to  a  public  meeting,  in  criticism  of  the  course  of  the  Admin 
istration,  and  in  condemnation  of  the  military  orders  of  the 
general."  Now,  if  there  be  no  mistake  about  this ;  if  this 
assertion  is  the  truth  and  the  whole  truth  ;  if  there  was  no  other 
reason  for  the  arrest,  then  I  concede  that  the  arrest  was  wrong. 
But  the  arrest,  as  I  understand,  was  made  for  a  very  different 
reason.  Mr.  Vallandigham  avows  his  hostility  to  the  war  on 
the  part  of  the  Union  ;  and  his  arrest  was  made  because  he  was 
laboring,  with  some  effect,  to  prevent  the  raising  of  troops; 
to  encourage  desertions  from  the  army ;  and  to  leave  the  rebel 
lion  without  an  adequate  military  force  to  suppress  it.  He  was 
not  arrested  because  he  was  damaging  the  political  prospects 
of  the  Administration,  or  the  personal  interests  of  the  com 
manding  general,  but  because  he  was  damaging  the  army,  upon 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  193 

the  existence  and  vigor  of  which  the  life  of  the  nation  depends. 
He  was  warring  upon  the  military,  and  this  gave  the  military 
constitutional  jurisdiction  to  lay  hands  upon  him.  If  Mr.  Val- 
landigham  was  not  damaging  the  military  power  of  the  country, 
then  this  arrest  was  made  on  mistake  of  fact,  which  I  would  be 
glad  to  correct  on  reasonably  satisfactory  evidence. 

I  understand  the  meeting,  whose  resolutions  I  am  consider 
ing,  to  be  in  favor  of  suppressing  the  rebellion  by  military  force 
by  armies.  Long  experience  has  shown  that  armies  cannot  be 
maintained  unless  desertions  shall  be  punished  by  the  severe 
penalty  of  death.  The  case  requires,  and  the  law  and  the  Consti 
tution  sanctions,  this  punishment.  Must  I  shoot  a  simple- 
minded  soldier  boy  who  deserts,  while  I  must  not  touch  a  hair  of 
a  wily  agitator  who  induces  him  to  desert  ?  This  is  none  the 
less  injurious  when  effected  by  getting  a  father,  or  brother,  or 
friend,  into  a  public  meeting,  and  there  working  upon  his  feel 
ings  till  he  is  persuaded  to  write  the  soldier  boy  that  he  is 
fighting  in  a  bad  cause,  for  a  wicked  Administration  of  a  con 
temptible  Government,  too  weak  to  arrest  and  punish  him  if  he 
shall  desert.  I  think  that  in  such  a  case  to  silence  the  agitator 
and  save  the  boy  is  not  only  constitutional,  but  withal  a  great 
mercy. 

If  I  be  wrong  on  this  question  of  constitutional  power,  my 
error  lies  in  believing  that  certain  proceedings  are  constitutional 
when,  in  cases  of  rebellion  or  invasion,  the  public  safety  requires 
them,  which  would  not  be  constitutional  when,  in  the  absence 
of  rebellion  or  invasion,  the  public  safety  does  not  require  them ; 
in  other  words,  that  the  Constitution  is  not,  in  its  application, 
in  all  respects  the  same,  in  cases  of  rebellion  or  invasion  involv 
ing  the  public  safety,  as  it  is  in  time  of  profound  peace  and 
public  security.  The  Constitution  itself  makes  the  distinction ; 
and  I  can  no  more  be  persuaded  that  the  Government  can  con 
stitutionally  take  no  strong  measures  in  time  of  rebellion, 
because  it  can  be  shown  that  the  same  could  not  be  lawfully 
taken  in  time  of  peace,  than  I  can  be  persuaded  that  a  particu 
lar  drug  is  not  good  medicine  for  a  sick  man,  because  it  can  be 
shown  not  to  be  good  food  for  a  well  one.  Nor  am  I  able  to 
appreciate  the  danger  apprehended  by  the  meeting  that  the 

9 


194  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

American  people  will,  by  means  of  military  arrests  during  the 
rebellion,  lose  the  right  of  public  discussion,  the  liberty  of 
speech  and  the  press,  the  law  of  evidence,  trial  by  jury,  and 
habeas  corpu*,  throughout  the  indefinite  peaceful  future,  which 
I  trust  lies  before  them,  any  more  than  I  tun  able  to  believe  that 
a  man  could  contract  so  strong  an  appetite  for  emetics  during 
temporary  illness  as  to  persist  in  feeding  upon  them  during  the 
remainder  of  his  healthful  life. 

In  giving  the  resolutions  that  earnest  consideration  which 
you  request  of  me,  I  cannot  overlook  the  fact  that  the  meeting 
speak  as  "  Democrats."  Nor  can  I,  with  full  respect  for  their 
known  intelligence,  and  the  fairly  presumed  deliberation  with 
which  they  prepared  their  resolutions,  be  permitted  to  suppose 
that  this  occurred  by  accident,  or  in  any  way  other  than  that 
they  preferred  to  designate  themselves  "Democrats"  rather 
than  "  American  citizens." 

In  this  time  of  national  peril,  I  would  have  preferred  to  meet 
you  on  a  level  one  step  higher  than  any  party  platform ;  because 
I  am  sure  that,  from  such  more  elevated  position,  we  could  do 
better  battle  for  the  country  we  all  love  than  we  possibly  can 
from  those  lower  ones  where,  from  the  force  of  habit,  the  pre 
judices  of  the  past,  and  selfish  hopes  of  the  future,  we  are  sure 
to  expend  much  of  our  ingenuity  and  strength  in  finding  fault 
with  and  aiming  blows  at  each  other.  But,  since  you  have  de 
nied  me  this,  I  will  yet  be  thankful,  for  the  country's  sake,  that 
not  all  Democrats  have  done  so.  He  on  whose  discretionary 
judgment  Mr.  Vallandigham  was  arrested  and  tried  is  a  Demo 
crat,  having  no  old  party  affinity  with  me ;  and  the  judge  who 
rejected  the  constitutional  view  expressed  in  these  resolutions, 
by  refusing  to  discharge  Mr.  Vallandigham  on  habeas  corjrus,  is 
a  Democrat  of  better  days  than  these,  having  received  his  judi 
cial  mantle  at  the  hands  of  President  Jackson.  And  still  more, 
of  all  those  Democrats  who  are  nobly  exposing  their  lives  and 
shedding  their  blood  on  the  battle-field,  I  have  learned  that 
many  approve  the  course  taken  with  Mr.  Vallandigham,  while 
I  have  not  heard  of  a  single  one  condemning  it.  I  cannot  as 
sert  that  there  are  none  such.  And  the  name  of  Jackson  recalls 
an  incident  of  pertinent  history  :  After  the  battle  of  New  Or- 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  195 

leans,  and  while  the  fact  that  the  treaty  of  peace  had  been  con 
cluded  was  well  known  in  the  city,  but  before  official  knowledge 
of  it  had  arrived,  General  Jackson  still  maintained  martial  or 
military  law.  Now  that  it  could  be  said  the  war  was  over,  the 
clamor  against  martial  law,  which  had  existed  from  the  first, 
grew  more  furious.  Among  other  things,  a  Mr.  Louiallier  pub 
lished  a  denunciatory  newspaper  article.  General  Jackson 
arrested  him.  A  lawyer  by  the  name  of  Morrel  procured  the 
United  States  Judge  Hall  to  issue  a  writ  of  habeas  corpus  to  re 
lieve  Mr.  Louiallier.  General  Jackson  arrested  both  the  lawyer 
and  the  judge.  A  Mr.  Hollander  ventured  to  say  of  some  part 
of  the  matter  that  "  it  was  a  dirty  trick."  General  Jackson  ar 
rested  him.  When  the  officer  undertook  to  serve  the  writ  of 
habeas  corpus,  General  Jackson  took  it  from  him,  and  sent  him 
away  with  a  copy.  Holding  the  judge  in  custody  a  few  days, 
the  General  sent  him  beyond  the  limits  of  his  encampment,  and 
set  him  at  liberty,  with  an  order  to  remain  till  the  ratification 
of  peace  should  be  regularly  announced,  or -until  the  British 
should  have  left  the  Southern  coast.  A  day  or  two  more 
elapsed,  the  ratification  of  a  treaty  of  peace  was  regularly  an 
nounced,  and  the  judge  and  others  were  fully  liberated.  A  few 
days  more,  and  the  judge  called  General  Jackson  into  court  and 
fined  him  $1,000  for  having  arrested  him  and  the  others  named. 
The  General  paid  the  fine,  and  there  the  matter  rested  for  nearly 
thirty  years,  when  Congress  refunded  principal  and  interest. 
The  late  Senator  Douglas,  then  in  the  House  of  Representatives, 
took  a  leading  part  in  the  debates,  in  which  the  constitutional 
question  was  much  discussed.  I  am  not  prepared  to  say  whom 
the  journals  would  show  to  have  voted  for  the  measure. 

It  may  be  remarked :  First,  that  we  had  the  same  Constitu 
tion  then  as  now ;  secondly,  that  we  then  had  a  case  of  invasion, 
and  now  we  have  a  case  of  rebellion ;  and,  thirdly,  that  the  per 
manent  right  of  the  people  to  public  discussion,  the  liberty  of 
speech  and  of  the  press,  the  trial  by  jury,  the  law  of  evidence, 
and  the  habeas  corpus,  suffered  no  detriment  whatever  by  that 
conduct  of  General  Jackson,  or  its  subsequent  approval  by  the 
American  Congress. 

And  yet,  let  me  say  that,  in  my  own  discretion,  I  do  not  know 


196  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

whether  1  would  have  ordered  the  arrest  of  Mr.  Vallandigham. 
While  I  cannot  shift  the  responsibility  from  myself,  I  hold  that, 
as  a  general  rule,  the  commander  in  the  field  is  the  better  judge 
of  the  necessity  in  any  particular  case.  Of  course  I  must  prac 
tise  a  general  directory  and  revisory  power  in  the  matter. 

One  of  the  resolutions  expresses  the  opinion  of  the  meeting 
that  arbitrary  arrests  will  have  the  effect  to  divide  and  distract 
those  who  should  be  united  in  suppressing  the  rebellion,  and  I 
am  specifically  called  on  to  discharge  Mr.  Vallandigham.  I  re 
gard  this  as,  at  least,  a  fair  appeal  to  me  on  the  expediency  of 
exercising  a  constitutional  power  which  I  think  exists.  In 
response  to  such  appeal,  I  have  to  say,  it  gave  me  pain  when  I 
learned  that  Mr.  Vallandigham  had  been  arrested — that  is,  I  was 
pained  that  there  should  have  seemed  to  be  a  necessity  for  arrest 
ing  him — and  that  it  will  afford  me  great  pleasure  to  discharge 
him  so  soon  as  I  can,  by  any  means,  believe  the  public  safety 
will  not  sufler  by  it.  I  further  say  that,  as  the  war  progresses, 
it  appears  to  me,  opinion  and  action,  which  were  in  great  con 
fusion  at  first,  take  shape  and  fall  into  more  regular  channels, 
so  that  the  necessity  for  strong  dealing  with  them  gradually 
decreases.  I  have  every  reason  to  desire  that  it  should  cease 
altogether ;  and  far  from  the  least  is  my  regard  for  the  opinions 
and  wishes  of  those  who,  like  the  meeting  at  Albany,  declare 
their  purpose  to  sustain  the  Government  in  every  constitutional 
and  lawful  measure  to  suppress  the  rebellion.  Still,  I  must 
continue  to  do  so  much  as  may  seem  to  be  required  by  the 
public  safety.  A.  LINCOLN. 

Erroneously  supposing  that  the  people  of  Ohio  sympa 
thized  \\ith  Mr.  Vallandigham,  and  wishing  to  take  ad 
vantage  of  his  eclat  as  a  political  martyr,  the  Democratic 
Convention  held  at  Columbus,  June  11, 1863,  nominated 
him  as  Governor  of  the  State,  and  sent  a  committee  to 
Washington  to  wait  on  the  President,  present  the  resolu 
tions  of  the  Convention,  and  demand  the  immediate  recall 
of  Mr.  Vallandigham.  To  this  committee  Mr.  Lincoln 
addressed  the  following  letter : 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  197 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  June  29. 1863. 

Messrs.  M.  Burchard,  David  A.  Houck,  George  Bliss,  T.  W.  Bart- 
ley,  W.  J.  Gordon,  John  O'Neill,  C.  A.  White,  W.  E.  Fink, 
Alexander  Long,  J.  W.  White,  George  H.  Pendleton,  George  L. 
Converse,  Hanzo  P.  Noble,  James  H.  Morris,  W.  A.  Hutchins, 
Abner  L.  Backus,  J.  F.  McKinney,  P.  C.  De  Blond,  Louis 
Schaefer. 

Gentlemen — The  resolutions  of  the  Ohio  Democratic  State 
Convention,  which  you  present  me,  together  with  your  intro 
ductory  and  closing  remarks,  being  in  position  and  argument 
mainly  the  same  as  the  resolutions  of  the  Democratic  meeting  at 
Albany,  New  York,  I  refer  you  to  my  response  to  the  latter  as 
meeting  most  of  the  points  in  the  former. 

This  response  you  evidently  used  in  preparing  your  remarks, 
and  I  desire  no  more  than  that  it  be  used  with  accuracy. 
In  a  single  reading  of  your  remarks,  I  only  discover  one 
inaccuracy  in  matter  which  I  suppose  you  took  from  that 
paper.  It  is  where  you  say,  "  The  undersigned  are  unable  to 
agree  with  you  in  the  opinion  you  have  expressed  that  the  Con 
stitution  is  different  in  time  of  insurrection  or  invasion  from  what 
it  is  in  time  of  peace  and  public  security." 

A  recurrence  to  the  paper  will  show  you  that  I  have  not 
expressed  the  opinion  you  suppose.  I  expressed  the  opinion 
that  the  Constitution  is  different  in  its  applimtion  in  cases  of 
rebellion  or  invasion,  involving  the  public  safety,  from  what  it 
is  in  times  of  profound  peace  and  public  security ;  and  this 
opinion  I  adhere  to,  simply  because  by  the  Constitution  itself 
things  may  be  done  in  the  one  case  which  may  not  be  done  in 
the  other. 

I  dislike  to  waste  a  word  on  a  merely  personal  point,  but  I 
must  respectfully  assure  you  that  you  will  find  yourselves  at 
fault  should  you  ever  seek  for  evidence  to  prove  your  assump 
tion  that  I  "  opposed  in  discussions  before  the  people  the  policy 
of  the  Mexican  war." 

You  say :  "  Expunge  from  the  Constitution  this  limitation 
upon  the  power  of  Congress  to  suspend  the  writ  of  habeas  cor 
pus,  and  yet  the  other  guarantees  of  personal  liberty  would 
remain  unchanged."  Doubtless,  if  this  clause  of  the  Constitu- 


198      THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

tion,  improperly  called,  as  I  think,  a  limitation  upon  the  power 
of  Congress,  were  expunged,  the  other  guarantees  would  remain 
the  same  ;  but  the  question  is,  not  how  those  guarantees  would 
stand  with  that  clause  out  of  the  Constitution,  but  how  they 
stand  with  that  clause  remaining  in  it,  in  case  of  rebellion  or 
invasion,  involving  the  public  safety.  If  the  liberty  could  be 
indulged  in  expunging  that  clause,  letter  and  spirit,  I  really 
think  the  constitutional  argument  would  be  with  you. 

My  general  view  on  this  question  was  stated  in  the  Albany 
response,  and  hence  I  do  not  state  it  now.  I  only  add  that,  as 
seems  to  me,  the  benefit  of  the  writ  of  liabeas  corpus  is  the  great 
means  through  which  the  guarantees  of  personal  liberty  are 
conserved  and  made  available  in  the  last  resort ;  and  corrobo 
rative  of  this  view  is  the  fact  that  Mr.  Vallandigham,  in  the 
very  case  in  question,  under  the  advice  of  able  lawyers,  saw  not 
where  else  to  go  but  to  the  Juibeas  corpus.  But  by  the  Constitu 
tion  the  benefit  of  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  itself  may  be  sus 
pended,  when,  in  case  of  rebellion  or  invasion,  the  public  safety 
may  require  it. 

You  ask,  in  substance,  whether  I  really  claim  that  I  may  over 
ride  all  the  guaranteed  rights  of  individuals,  on  the  plea  of 
conserving  the  public  safety — when  I  may  choose  to  say  the 
public  safety  requires  it.  This  question  divested  of  the  phrase 
ology  calculated  to  represent  me  as  struggling  for  an  arbitrary 
personal  prerogative,  is  either  simply  a  question  who  shall 
decide,  or  an  affirmation  that  nvlody  shall  decide,  what  the 
public  safety  does  require  in  cases  of  rebellion  or  invasion. 
The  Constitution  contemplates  the  question  as  likely  to  occur 
for  decision,  but  it  does  not  expressly  declare  who  is  to  decide 
it.  By  necessary  implication,  when  rebellion  or  invasion  comes. 
the  decision  is  to  be  made  from  time  to  time;  and  I  think  the 
man  whom,  for  the  time,  the  people  have,  under  the  Constitu 
tion,  made  the  Commander-in-chief  of  their  army  and  navy,  is 
the  man  Avho  holds  the  power  and  bears  the  responsibility  of 
making  it.  If  he  uses  the  power  justly,  the  same  people  will 
probably  justify  him ;  if  he  abuses  it,  he  is  in  their  hands  to  be 
dealt  with  by  all  the  modes  they  have  reserved  to  themselves  in 
the  Constitution. 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.       199 

The  earnestness  with  which  you  insist  that  persons  can  only, 
in  times  of  rebellion,  be  lawfully  dealt  with  in  accordance  with 
the  rules  for  criminal  trials  and  punishments  in  times  of  peace, 
induce  me  to  add  a  word  to  what  I  said  on  that  point  in  the 
Albany  response.  You  claim  that  men  may,  if  they  choose, 
embarrass  those  whose  duty  it  is  to  combat  a  giant  rebellion, 
and  then  be  dealt  with  only  in  turn  as  if  there  were  no  rebel 
lion.  The  Constitution  itself  rejects  this  view.  The  military 
arrests  and  detentions  which  have  been  made,  including  those 
of  Mr.  Vallandigham,  which  are  not  different  in  principle  from 
the  other,  have  been  for  prevention,  and  not  for  punishment — as 
injunctions  to  stay  injury,  as  proceedings  to  keep  the  peace — 
and  hence,  like  proceedings  in  such  cases,  and  for  like  rea 
sons,  they  have  not  been  accompanied  with  indictments,  or  trial 
by  juries,  nor  in  a  single  case  by  any  punishment  whatever  beyond 
what  is  purely  incidental  to  the  prevention.  The  original  sen 
tence  of  imprisonment  in  Mr.  Vallandigham's  case  was  to  pre 
vent  injury  to  the  military  service  only,  and  the  modification  of 
it  was  made  as  a  less  disagreable  mode  to  him  of  securing  the 
same  prevention. 

I  am  unable  to  perceive  an  insult  to  Ohio  in  the  case  of  Mr. 
Vallandigham.  Quite  surely  nothing  of  this  sort  was  or  is 
intended.  I  was  wholly  unaware  that  Mr.  Vallandigham  was, 
at  the  time  of  his  arrest,  a  candidate  for  the  Democratic  nomi 
nation  of  governor,  until  so  informed  by  your  reading  to  me 
the  resolutions  of  the  convention.  I  am  grateful  to  the  State 
of  Ohio  for  many  things,  especially  for  the  brave  soldiers  and 
officers  she  has  given  in  the  present  national  trial  to  the  armies 
of  the  Union. 

You  claim,  as  I  understand,  that  according  to  my  own  posi 
tion  in  the  Albany  response,  Mr.  Vallandigham  should  be 
released ;  and  this  because,  as  you  claim,  he  has  not  damaged 
the  military  service  by  discouraging  enlistments,  encouraging 
desertions,  or  otherwise ;  and  that  if  he  had,  he  should  have 
been  turned  over  to  the  civil  authorities  under  the  recent  acts 
of  Congress.  I  certainly  do  not  knoio  that  Mr.  Vallandigham 
has  specifically  and  by  direct  language  advised  against  enlist 
ments  and  in  favor  of  desertions,  and  resistance  to  drafting. 


200  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

We  all  know  that  combinations,  armed  in  some  instances,  to 
resist  the  arrest  of  deserters,  began  several  months  ago ;  that 
more  recently  the  like  has  appeared  in  resistance  to  the  enrol 
ment  preparatory  to  a  draft ;  and  that  quite  a  number  of  assas 
sinations  have  occurred  from  the  same  animus.  These  had  to 
be  met  by  military  force,  and  this  again  has  led  to  bloodshed 
and  death.  And  now,  under  a  sense  of  responsibility  more 
weighty  and  enduring  than  any  which  is  merely  official,  I  sol 
emnly  declare  my  belief  that  this  hindrance  to  the  military, 
including  the  maiming  and  murder,  is  due  to  the  cause  in  which 
Mr.  Vallandighani  has  been  engaged,  in  a  greater  degree  than 
to  any  other  cause ;  and  it  is  due  to  him  personally  in  a  greater 
degree  than  to  any  other  man. 

These  things  have  been  notorious,  known  to  all,  and  of  course 
known  to  Mr.  Vallandigham.  Perhaps  I  would  not  be  wrong 
to  say  they  originated  with  his  especial  friends  and  adherents. 
With  perfect  knowledge  of  them  he  has  frequently,  if  not  con 
stantly,  made  speeches  in  Congress  and  before  popular  assem 
blies  ;  and  if  it  can  be  shown  that,  with  these  things  staring 
him  in  the  face  he  has  ever  uttered  a  word  of  rebuke  or  coun 
sel  against  them,  it  will  be  a  fact  greatly  in  his  favor  with  me, 
and  of  which,  as  yet,  I  am  totally  ignorant.  When  it  is  known 
that  the  whole  burden  of  his  speeches  has  been  to  stir  up  men 
against  the  prosecution  of  the  war,  and  that  in  the  midst  of 
resistance  to  it  he  has  not  been  known  in  any  instance  to 
counsel  against  such  resistance,  it  is  next  to  impossible  to  repel 
the  inference  that  he  has  counseled  directly  in  favor  of  it. 

With  all  this  before  their  eyes  the  convention  you  represent 
have  nominated  Mr.  Vallandigham  for  governor  of  Ohio,  and 
both  they  and  you  have  declared  the  purpose  to  sustain  the 
national  Union  by  all  constitutional  means,  but,  of  course,  they 
and  you,  in  common,  reserve  to  yourselves  to  decide  what  are 
constitutional  means,  and,  unlike  the  Albany  meeting,  you  omit 
to  state  or  intimate  that,  in  your  opinion,  an  armyis  a  constitu 
tional  means  of  saving  the  Union  against  a  rebellion,  or  even  to 
intimate  that  you  are  conscious  of  an  existing  rebellion  being 
in  progress  with  the  avowed  object  of  destroying  that  very 
Union.  At  the  same  time,  your  nominee  for  governor,  in  whose 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  201 

behalf  you  appeal,  is  known  to  you,  and  to  the  world,  to  declare 
against  the  use  of  an  army  to  suppress  the  rebellion.  Your 
own  attitude,  therefore,  encourages  desertion,  resistance  to  the 
draft,  and  the  like,  because  it  teaches  those  who  incline  to 
desert  and  to  escape  the  draft  to  believe  it  is  your  purpose  to 
protect  them,  and  to  hope  that  you  will  become  strong  enough 
to  do  so. 

After  a  short  personal  intercourse  with  you,  gentlemen  of  the 
committee,  I  cannot  say  I  think  you  desire  this  effect  to  follow 
your  attitude ;  but  I  assure  you  that  both  friends  and  enemies 
of  the  Union  look  upon  it  in  this  light.  It  is  a  substantial  hope, 
and  by  consequence,  a  real  strength  to  the  enemy.  If  it  is  a 
false  hope,  and  one  which  you  would  willingly  dispel,  I  will 
make  the  way  exceedingly  easy.  I  send  you  duplicates  of  this 
letter,  in  order  that  you,  or  a  majority,  may,  if  you  choose, 
endorse  your  names  upon  one  of  them,  and  return  it,  thus 
endorsed,  to  me,  with  the  understanding  that  those  signing  are 
thereby  committed  to  the  following  propositions,  and  to  nothing 
else: 

1.  That  there  is  now  rebellion  in  the  United  States,  the  object 
and  tendency  of  which  is  to  destroy  the  national  Union ;  and 
that,  in  your  opinion,  an   army  and  navy  are  constitutional 
means  for  suppressing  that  rebellion. 

2.  That  no  one  of  you  will  do  anything  which,  in  his  own 
Judgment,   will    tend    to  hinder  the   increase,  or  favor    the 
decrease,  or  lessen  the  efficiency  of  the  army  and  navy,  while 
engaged  in  the  effort  to  suppress  that  rebellion  ;  and — 

3.  That  each  of  you  will,  in  his  sphere,  do  all  he  can  to  have 
the  officers,  soldiers,  and  seamen  of  the  army  and  navy,  while 
engaged  in  the  effort  to  suppress  the  rebellion,  paid,  fed,  clad, 
and  otherwise  well  provided  for  and  supported. 

And  with  the  further  understanding  that  upon  receiving  the 
letter  and  names  thus  endorsed,  I  will  cause  them  to  be  pub 
lished,  which  publication  shall  be,  within  itself,  a  revocation  of 
the  order  in  relation  to  Mr.  Vallandigham. 

It  will  not  escape  observation  that  I  consent  to  the  release  of 
Mr.  Vallandigham  upon  terms  not  embracing  any  pledge  from 
him  or  from  others  as  to  what  he  will  or  will  not  do.  I  do  this 


202  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

because  he  is  not  present  to  speak  for  himself,  or  to  authorize 
others  to  speak  for  him;  and  hence  I  shall  expect  that,  on 
returning,  he  would  not  put  himself  practically  in  antagonism 
with  the  position  of  his  friends.  But  I  do  it  chiefly  because  I 
thereby  prevail  on  other  influential  gentlemen  of  Ohio  to  so 
define  their  position  as  to  be  of  immense  value  to  the  army — 
thus  more  than  compensating  for  the  consequences  of  any  mis 
take  in  allowing  Mr.  Vallandighain  to  return,  so  that,  on  the 
whole,  the  public  safety  will  not  have  suffered  by  it.  Still,  in 
regard  to  Mr.  Vallandigham  and  all  others,  I  must  hereafter,  as 
heretofore,  do  so  much  as  the  public  service  may  seem  to  require. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be  respectfully,  yours,  etc., 

A.  LINCOLN. 

The  reader  need  hardly  be  reminded  that  the  President 
was  heartily  sustained  in  his  action  in  this  matter,  not 
only  by  the  country  at  large,  but  especially  by  Ohio, 
where  Mr.  Vallandigham,  in  spite  of  his  "martyrdom," 
was  defeated  by  an  overwhelming  majority. 

GETTYSBURG   AND    VICKSBURG. 

The  important  defeat  of  the  rebels,  under  General  Lee, 
by  General  Meade  at  Gettysburg  on  July  2d  and  3d,  of 
this  year,  and  the  hardly  less  important  capture  of  Vicks- 
burg,  with  General  Pemberton's  army,  on  the  4th,  did 
much  to  sustain  and  cheer  the  country  in  its  trials.  On 
the  7th,  the  President  was  waited  on,  at  the  White  House, 
by  a  large  crowd  of  people,  with  music,  and  made  to 
them  the  following  speech  : 

Fellow- Citizens — I  am  very  glad  indeed  to  see  you  to-night,  and 
yet  I  will  not  say  I  thank  you  for  this  call,  but  I  do  most  sincerely 
thank  Almighty  God  for  the  occasion  on  which  you  have  called. 
(Cheers.)  How  long  ago  is  it — eighty  odd  ye/irs — since  on  the 
4th  of  July,  for  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  the  world,  a 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  203 

nation,  by  its  representatives,  assembled  and  declared,  as  a  self- 
evident  truth,  that  "  all  men  are  created  equal  ?"  (Cheers.) 
That  was  the  birthday  of  the  United  States  of  America.  Since 
then  the  4th  of  July  has  had  several  very  peculiar  recognitions. 
The  two  most  distinguished  men  in  the  framing  and  support  of 
the  Declaration  were  Thomas  Jefferson  and  John  Adams — the 
one  having  penned  it,  and  the  other  sustained  it  the  most  forcibly 
in  debate — the  only  two  of  the  fifty-five  who  sustained  it  being 
elected  President  of  the  United  States.  Precisely  fifty  years 
after  they  put  their  hands  to  the  paper,  it  pleased  Almighty  God 
to  take  both  from  this  stage  of  action.  This  was,  indeed,  an 
extraordinary  and  remarkable  event  in  our  history.  Another 
President,  five  years  after,  was  called  from  this  stage  of  existence 
on  the  same  day  and  month  of  the  year ;  and  now,  in  this  last  4th 
of  July  just  passed,  when  wre  have  a  gigantic  rebellion,  at  the 
bottom  of  which  is  an  effort  to  overthrow  the  principles  that 
all  men  were  created  equal,  we  have  the  surrender  of  a  most 
powerful  position  and  army  on  that  very  day.  (Cheers.)  And 
not  only  so,  but  in  a  succession  of  battles  in  Pennsylvania,  near 
to  us,  through  three  days,  so  rapidly  fought  that  they  might  be 
called  one  great  battle  on  the  1st,  2d,  and  3d  of  the  month  of 
July ;  and  on  the  4th,  the  cohorts  of  those  who  opposed  the 
declaration  that  all  men  are  created  equal,  "  turned  tail"  and 
ran.  (Long  continued  cheers.)  Gentlemen,  this  is  a  glorious 
theme,  and  the  occasion  for  a  speech ;  but  1  am  not  prepared 
to  make  one  worthy  of  the  occasion.  I  would  like  to  speak  in 
terms  of  praise,  due  to  the  many  brave  officers  and  soldiers  who 
have  fought  in  the  cause  of  the  Union  and  liberties  of  their 
country  from  the  beginning  of  the  war.  There  are  trying  occa 
sions  not  only  in  success,  but  for  the  want  of  success.  I  dislike 
to  mention  the  name  of  one  single  officer,  lest  I  might  do  wrong 
to  those  I  might  forget.  Recent  events  bring  up  glorious  names 
and  particularly  prominent  ones ;  but  these  I  will  not  mention. 
Having  said  this  much,  I  will  now  take  the  music. 

Mr.  Lincoln  did  not,  however,  confine  his  acknowledg 
ments  of  the  great  services  then  rendered  to  the  country 
to  public  speeches  or  formal  communications.  He  wrote 


204  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

kind  personal  letters  to  the  commanders.  The  following, 
which  he  addressed  to  General  Grant,  contains  a  frank 
confession  of  erroneous  judgment  on  the  part  of  the 
President : 

EXECUTIVE  MANSION,  WASHINGTON,  July  13,  1863. 

Major- General  Grant — My  Dear  General — I  do  not  remember 
that  you  and  I  ever  met  personally.  I  write  this  now  as  a  grate 
ful  acknowledgment  for  the  almost  inestimable  sendees  you 
have  done  the  country.  I  write  to  say  a  word  further.  When 
you  first  reached  the  vicinity  of  Vicksburg,  I  thought  you 
should  do  what  you  finally  did — march  the  troops  across  the 
neck,  run  the  batteries  with  the  transports,  and  thus  go  below  ; 
and  I  never  had  any  faith,  except  a  general  hope  that  you  knew 
better  than  I,  that  the  Yazoo  Pass  expedition,  and  the  like, 
could  succeed.  When  you  got  below,  and  took  Port  Gibson, 
Grand  Gulf,  and  vicinity,  I  thought  you  should  go  down  the 
river,  and  join  General  Banks,  and  when  you  turned  northward, 
east  of  the  Big  Black,  I  feared  it  was  a  mistake.  I  now  wish  to 
make  the  personal  acknowledgment,  that  you  were  right  and  I 
was  wrong.  Yours,  truly,  A.  LINCOLN. 

The  proclamation  which  the  President  issued  upon  oc 
casion  of  these  victories  is  worthy  of  perusal  on  account 
of  the  truly  grateful  spirit  with  which  it  is  imbued,  and 
the  appearance  of  that  tenderness  of  heart  and  forgiving 
disposition  which  were  such  marked  traits  in  Mr.  Lincoln's 
character. 

PROCLAMATION. 

It  has  pleased  Almighty  God  to  hearken  to  the  supplications 
and  prayers  of  an  afflicted  people,  and  to  vouchsafe  to  the  Army 
and  the  Navy  of  the  United  States,  on  the  land  and  on  the  sea, 
victories  so  signal  and  so  effective  as  to  furnish  reasonable 
grounds  for  augmented  confidence  that  the  Union  of  these 
States  will  be  maintained,  their  Constitution  preserved,  and 
their  peace  and  prosperity  permanently  secured ;  but  these  vie 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  205 

tones  have  been  accorded,  not  without  sacrifice  of  life,  limb, 
and  liberty,  incurred  by  brave,  patriotic,  and  loyal  citizens. 
Domestic  affliction,  in  every  part  of  the  country,  follows  in  the 
train  of  these  fearful  bereavements.  It  is  meet  and  right  to 
recognize  and  confess  the  presence  of  the  Almighty  Father,  and 
the  power  of  his  hand  equally  in  thesetriumphs  and  these  sorrows. 

Now,  therefore,  be  it  known,  that  I  do  set  apart  Thursday, 
the  sixth  day  of  August  next,  to  be  observed  as  a  day  for  Na 
tional  Thanksgiving,  praise,  and  prayer ;  and  I  invite  the  peo 
ple  of  the  United  States  to  assemble  on  that  occasion  in  their 
customary  places  of  worship,  and  in  the  form  approved  by  their 
own  conscience,  render  the  homage  due  to  the  Divine  Majesty, 
for  the  wonderful  things  He  has  done  in  the  nation's  behalf, 
and  invoke  the  influence  of  His  Holy  Spirit,  to  subdue  the  an 
ger  which  has  produced,  and  so  long  sustained  a  needless  and 
cruel  rebellion  ;  to  change  the  hearts  of  the  insurgents ;  to  guide 
the  counsels  of  the  Government  with  wisdom  adequate  to  so 
great  a  national  emergency,  and  to  visit  with  tender  care,  and 
consolation,  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  our  land,  all 
those  who,  through  the  vicissitudes  of  marches,  voyages,  bat 
tles,  and  sieges,  have  been  brought  to  suffer  in  mind,  body,  or 
estate,  and  finally,  to  lead  the  whole  nation  through  paths  of 
repentance  and  submission  to  the  Divine  will,  back  to  the  per 
fect  enjoyment  of  union  and  fraternal  peace. 

In  witness  whereof,  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand,  and  caused 
the  seal  of  the  United  States  to  be  affixed. 

Done  at  the  City  of  Washington,  this  15th  day  of  July,  in  the 
year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
[L.  s.]    sixty-three,  and  of  the  independence  of  the   United 
States  of  America  the  eighty-eighth. 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 
By  the  President : 

WILLIAM  H.  SKWAED,  Secretary  of  State. 

PROTECTION    TO   NEGRO   SOLDIERS. 

Although  the  rebels  had  from  the  beginning  of  the  war 
made  such  use  of  their  slaves  in  their  armies  as  seemed 
good  to  them,  they  became  furious  when  the  Government 


206 


proposed  to  put  negroes  actually  into  the  ranks.  They 
denounced  this  as  a  savage  attempt  to  excite  a  servile  in 
surrection,  and  they  declared  that  negro  soldiers,  if  taken 
prisoners,  should  not  be  regarded  as  ordinary  prisoners 
of  war,  but  be  handed  over  to  the  local  authorities  of  the 
State  in  which  they  were  captured.  This  was  only  anoth 
er  way  of  saying  that  they  should  be  put  to  death  under 
the  "  black  laws"  of  the  Slave  States.  They  carried  out 
this  threat  in  many  instances ;  and  in  many  more  they 
slaughtered  upon  the  field  negro  soldiers  who  had  surren 
dered.  Slow  to  anger,  and  shrinking  with  horror  from 
bloody  retaliation,  President  Lincoln,  however,  at  last 
was  driven  to  issue  upon  this  subject  the  following  order: 

WAR  DEPARTMENT,  ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S  OFFICE,  } 
WASIIINUTON,  July  31,  1863.      ) 

General  Order  No.  252. — The  following  order  of  the  President 
is  published  for  the  information  and  government  of  all  concerned : 

EXECUTIVE  MANSION,       ) 
WASHINGTON,  July  30.  ) 

It  is  the  duty  of  every  Government  to  give  protection  to  its 
citizens,  of  whatever  class,  color  or  condition,  and  especially 
those  who  are  duly  organized  as  soldiers  in  the  public  service. 
The  law  of  nations  and  the  usages  and  customs  of  war,  as  car 
ried  on  by  civilized  powers,  permit  no  distinction  as  to  color  in 
the  treatment  of  prisoners  of  war  as  public  enemies.  To  sell 
or  enslave  any  captured  person  on  account  of  his  color,  and  for 
no  offence  against  the  laws  of  war,  is  a  relapse  into  barbarism 
and  a  crime  against  the  civilization  of  the  age.  The  Govern 
ment  of  the  United  States  will  give  the  same  protection  to  all 
its  soldiers,  and  if  the  enemy  shall  sell  or  enslave  any  one 
because  of  his  color,  the  offence  shall  be  punished  by  retaliation 
upon  the  enemy's  prisoners  in  our  possession.  It  is,  therefore, 
ordered  that  for  every  soldier  of  the  United  States  killed  in 
violation  of  the  laws  of  war,  a  rebel  soldier  shall  be  executed, 
and  for  every  one  enslaved  by  the  enemy  or  sold  into  slavery,  a 
rebel  soldier  shall  be  placed  at  hard  labor  on  the  public  works, 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  207 

and  continued  at  such  labor  until  the  other  shall  be  released  and 
receive  the  treatment  due  to  a  prisoner  of  war. 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 
By  order  of  the  Secretary  of  "War. 

E.  D.  TOWNSEND,  Assistant  Adjutant-General. 

THE    ANTI-DRAFT   RIOTS — GOVERNOR   SEYMOUR. 

A  law  was  passed  by  Congress  providing  that  the  ranks 
of  the  army  should  be  filled  by  a  draft.  This  was  in 
accordance  with  a  suggestion  made  by  General  McClellan, 
August  20th,  1861.  when  he  was  in  command  of  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac.  The  unscrupulous  among  the 
opponents  of  Mr.  Lincoln1s  Administration,  and  the  de 
fenders  of  the  rebellion  generally  in  the  Free  •  States 
endeavored  for  months  to  stir  up  the  people  in  resistance 
to  this  law.  A  provision  of  the  law  by  which  any  drafted 
man  might  be  furnished  at  his  choice  with  a  substitute  by 
paying  $300  to  the  Government,  was  particularly  used 
as  a  means  of  exciting  animosity,  on  the  ground  that  it 
was  directed  against  the  poor  who  could  not  command 
that  sum,  while  it  favored  the  rich  who  could.  The 
World,  a  daily  journal  of  New  York,  which,  according 
to  evidence  produced  in  a  court  of  law,  had  been  offered 
for  sale,  with  the  services  of  its  editor,  Mr.  M.  Marble, 
both  to  the  supporters  of  the  war  and  to  its  opponents, 
and  which,  having  been  purchased  by  the  latter,  was  chiefly 
known  by  its  active  encouragement  of  the  rebellion,  having 
even  gone  so  far  as  to  declare  that  it  had  "always  main 
tained"  that  the  President  "  had  no  right  to  complain  of 
the  action  of  the  Slave  States,"  and  that  the  people  of 
New  York  "  no  more  lived  under  the  Constitution  than 
the  people  now  in  Georgia,"  and  having  counseled  its 
readers  to  provide  themselves  with  arms,  and  keep  in 


208       THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

"  every  family"  a  "  good  rifled  musket,  a  few  pounds  of 
powder,  and  a  hundred  or  so  of  t-hot,"  to  "  defend  their 
homes  and  personal  liberties  from  invasion  from  any 
quarter" — meaning,  of  course,  from  Canada  —  distin 
guished  itself  by  its  efforts  to  provoke  active  ill-feeling 
upon  this  subject.  These  efforts,  directed  by  the  malig 
nant,  and  inflaming  the  thoughtless  and  the  ignorant, 
were  followed  by  events  equally  disastrous  and  sig 
nificant.  It  would  be  superfluous  to  mention  more  in 
detail  the  Irish  Anti-Draft  Riots  of  July,  1863,  in 
which  New  York,  in  the  absence  of  its  militia  regiments, 
was  for  three  days  disgraced  by  scenes  of  blood,  arson,  and 
plunder.  The  riots  were  subdued  by  the  vigorous  action 
of  the  Metropolitan  Police  force,  aided  by  a  few  troops 
brought  up  from  the  forts  in  the  harbor,  and  order  was 
secured  by  the  arrival  of  some  regiments  from  the  army 
in  the  field,  and  the  return  of  some  of  the  militia.  The 
draft,  of  course,  was  ordered  to  go  on  as  soon  as  tran 
quillity  was  restored,  all  the  more  in  consequence  of  the 
riots.  But  Horatio  Seymour,  then  Governor  of  New 
York,  who  on  more  than  one  occasion  seemed  to  be  re 
garded  by  the  rioters  as  their  particular  friend,  thought, 
it  would  appear,  that  this  assertion  of  its  authority  and 
this  execution  of  an  Act  of  Congress  in  the  face  of 
threatened  violence  was  unbecoming,  or  at  least  impolitic, 
and  he  applied  by  letter  to  the  President  to  have  the 
draft  postponed  until  the  constitutionality  of  the  law 
could  be  decided  by  the  judicial  tribunals.  To  this  the 
President  replied  by  the  following  letter. 

EXECUTIVK  MANSION,  WASHINGTON,  August  7,  1863. 

His  Excellency  Horatio  Seymour,  Governor  of  New  York,  Albany, 
N.  Y.  —Your  communication  of  the  3d  inst.  has  been  received  and 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  209 

attentively  considered.  I  can  not  consent  to  suspend  the  draft 
in  New  York,  as  you  request,  because,  among  other  reasons, 
TIME  is  too  important.  By  the  figures  you  send,  which  I  pre 
sume  are  correct,  the  twelve  districts  represented  fall  in  two 
classes  of  eight  and  four  respectively. 

The  disparity  of  the  quotas  for  the  draft  in  these  two  classes 
is  certainly  very  striking,  being  the  difference  between  an  aver 
age  of  2,200  in  one  class,  and  4,864  in  the  other.  Assuming 
that  the  districts  are  equal,  one  to  another,  in  entire  population, 
as  required  by  the  plan  on  which  they  were  made,  this  disparity 
is  such  as  to  require  attention.  Much  of  it,  however,  I  suppose 
will  be  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  so  many  more  persons  fit 
for  soldiers  are  in  the  city  than  in  the  country,  who  have  too 
recently  arrived  from  other  parts  of  the  United  States  and  from 
Europe  to  be  either  included  in  the  census  of  1860,  or  to  have 
voted  in  1862.  Still,  making  due  allowance  for  this,  I  am  yet 
unwilling  to  stand  upon  it  as  an  entirely  sufficient  explanation 
of  the  great  disparity.  I  shall  direct  the  draft  to  proceed  in  all 
the  districts,  drawing,  however,  at  first,  from  each  of  the  four 
districts — to  wit,  the  Second,  Fourth,  Sixth  and  Eighth — only 
2,200,  being  the  average  quota  of  the  other  class.  After  this 
drawing,  these  four  districts,  and  also  the  Seventeenth  and 
Twenty-ninth,  shall  be  carefully  reenrolled ;  and,  if  you  please, 
agents  of  yours  may  witness  every  step  of  the  process.  Any 
deficiency  which  may  appear  by  the  new  enrolment  will  be  sup 
plied  by  a  special  draft  for  that  object,  allowing  due  credit  for 
volunteers  who  may  be  obtained  from  these  districts  respectively 
during  the  interval ;  and  at  all  points,  so  far  as  consistent  with 
practical  convenience,  due  credits  shall  be  given  for  volunteers, 
and  your  excellency  shall  be  notified  of  the  time  fixed  for  com 
mencing  a  draft  in  each  district. 

I  do  not  object  to  abide  a  decision  of  the  United  States  Su 
preme  Court,  or  of  the  judges  thereof,  on  the  constitutionality 
of  the  draft  law.  In  fact  I  should  be  willing  to  facilitate  the 
obtaining  of  it.  But  I  can  not  consent  to  lose  the  time  while  it 
is  being  obtained.  We  are  contending  with  an  enemy  who,  as 
I  understand,  drives  every  able-bodied  man  he  can  reach  into 
his  ranks,  very  much  as  a  butcher  drives  bullocks  into  a  slaugh- 


210  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

ter-pen.  No  time  is  wasted,  no  argument  is  used.  This  pro 
duces  an  army  which  will  soon  turn  upon  our  now  victorious 
soldiers  already  in  the  field,  if  they  shall  not  be  sustained  by 
recruits  as  they  should  be.  It  produces  an  army  with  a  rapidity 
not  to  be  matched  on  our  side,  if  we  first  waste  time  to  ree'x- 
periuient  with  the  volunteer  system,  already  deemed  by  Con 
gress,  and  palpably,  in  fact,  so  far  exhausted  as  to  be  inadequate ; 
and  then  more  time  to  obtain  a  court  decision  as  to  whether  a 
law  is  constitutional  which  requires  a  part  of  those  not  now  in 
the  service  to  go  to  the  aid  of  those  who  are  already  in  it ;  and 
still  more  time  to  determine  with  absolute  certainty  that  we  get 
those  who  are  to  go  in  the  precisely  legal  proportion  to  those 
who  are  not  to  go.  My  purpose  is  to  be  in  my  action  just  and 
constitutional,  and  yet  practical,  in  performing  the  important 
duty  with  which  I  am  charged,  of  maintaining  the  unity  and 
the  free  principles  of  our  common  country.  Your  obedient 
servant,  A.  LINCOLN. 

Governor  Seymour  returned  to  the  charge  in  another 
letter,  reasserting  the  injustice  of  the  law,  and  supporting 
his  position  by  an  opinion  prepared  by  Nelson  J.  Water- 
bury,  then  Judge  Advocate  of  New  York.  To  this  let 
ter  Mr.  Lincoln  replied  as  follows  : 

EXECUTIVE  MANSION,  WASHINGTON,  August  11,  1863. 

His  Excellency  Horatio  Seymour,  Governor  of  New  York : — 
Yours  of  the  8th,  with  Judge- Advocate  General  Waterbury's 
report,  was  received  to-day. 

Asking  you  to  remember  that  I  consider  time  as  being  very 
important,  both  to  the  general  cause  of  the  country  and  to  the 
soldiers  in  the  field,  I  beg  to  remind  you  that  I  waited,  at  your 
request,  from  the  1st  until  the  6th  inst.  to  receive  your  commu- 
cation  dated  the  3d.  In  view  of  its  great  length,  and  the 
known  time  and  apparent  care  taken  in  its  preparation,  I  did 
not  doubt  that  it  contained  your  full  case  as  you  desired  to 
present  it.  It  contained  the  figures  for  twelve  districts,  omit- 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  211 

ting  the  other  nineteen,  as  I  supposed,  because  you  found  noth 
ing  to  complain  of  as  to  them.  I  answered  accordingly.  In 
doing  so  I  laid  down  the  principle  to  which  I  purpose  adhering, 
which  is  to  proceed  with  the  draft,  at  the  same  time  employing 
infallible  means  to  avoid  any  great  wrong.  With  the  commu 
nication  received  to-day  you  send  figures  for  twenty-eight  dis 
tricts,  including  the  twelve  sent  before,  and  still  omitting  three, 
for  which  I  suppose  the  enrolments  are  not  yet  received.  In 
looking  over  the  fuller  list  of  twenty-eight  districts,  I  find  that 
the  quotas  for  sixteen  of  them  are  above  2,000  and  below  2,700, 
while  of  the  rest,  six  are  above  2,700,  and  six  are  below  2,000. 
Applying  the  principle  to  these  new  facts,  the  Fifth  and  Seventh 
Districts  must  be  added  to  the  four  in  which  the  quotas  have 
already  been  reduced  to  2,200  for  the  first  draft ;  and  with  these 
four  others  must  be  added  to  those  to  be  reenrolled.  The  cor 
rect  case  will  then  stand :  the  quotas  of  the  Second,  Fourth, 
Fifth,  Sixth,  Seventh  and  Eighth  Districts  fixed  at  2,200  for  the 
first  draft.  The  Provost-Marshal  General  informs  me  that  the 
drawing  is  already  completed  in  the  Sixteenth,  Seventeenth, 
Eighteenth,  Twenty-second,  Twenty-fourth,  Twenty-sixth,  Twen 
ty-seventh,  Twenty-Eighth,  Twenty-ninth,  and  Thirtieth  Dis 
tricts.  In  the  others,  except  the  three  outstanding,  the  draw 
ing  will  be  made  upon  the  quotas  as  now  fixed.  After  the  first 
draft,  the  Second,  Fourth,  Fifth,  Sixth,  Seventh,  Eighth,  Six 
teenth,  Seventeenth,  Twenty-first,  Twenty-fifth,  Twenty-ninth, 
and  Thirty-first  will  be  enrolled  for  the  purpose  and  in  the  man 
ner  stated  in  my  letter  of  the  7th  inst.  The  same  principle  will 
be  applied  to  the  now  outstanding  districts  when  they  shall 
come  in.  No  part  of  my  former  letter  is  repudiated  by  reason 
of  not  being  restated  in  this,  or  for  any  other  cause. 

Your  obedient  servant, 

A.  LINCOLN. 

The  draft  was  resumed  on  the  19th  of  August,  and 
completed  without  further  opposition. 


212 


"UNCONDITIONAL  UNION  MEN." 


About  the  beginning  of  the  second  year  of  the  rebel 
lion  certain  men,  hearty  supporters  of  the  war  for  its  sup 
pression,  and  hitherto  of  the  policy  of  the  Administra 
tion,  began  to  talk  of  ''unconditional  loyalty,"  and  to 
style  themselves  "  Unconditional  Union  Men."  Mr.  Lin 
coln  thought  that  he  discovered  that  their  unconditional 
loyalty  meant  loyalty  on  condition  that  slavery  was  imme 
diately  and  entirely  abolished,  and  the  ranks  of  the  army 
recruited  from  the  negroes ;  and  although  his  hatred  of 
slavery  was  no  less  than  theirs,  he  thought  that  their  pur 
poses  were  unwise,  and  their  professions  somewhat  incon 
sistent  with  their  demands.  In  August  they  held  a  Con 
vention  at  Springfield,  Illinois,  and  invited  the  Presi 
dent  to  be  present.  He  declined  the  invitation  in  the 
following  letter: 

EXEOUTIVK  MANSION,  WASHINGTON,  August  26, 1863. 

Hon.  James  M.  Conkling — Dear  Sir — Your  letter  inviting  me 
to  attend  amass  meeting  of  the  Unconditional  Union  men,  to  be 
held  at  the  capital  of  Illinois,  on  the  3d  day  of  September,  has 
been  received.  It  would  be  very  agreeable  for  me  thus  to  meet 
my  old  friends  at  my  own  home ;  but  I  cannot  just  now  be  ab 
sent  from  here  so  long  as  a  visit  there  would  require. 

The  meeting  is  to  be  of  all  those  who  maintain  unconditional 
devotion  to  the  Union ;  and  I  am  sure  that  my  old  political 
friends  will  thank  me  for  tendering,  as  I  do,  the  nation's  grati 
tude  to  those  other  noble  men  whom  no  partisan  malice  or  par 
tisan  hope  can  make  false  to  the  nation's  life. 

There  are  those  who  are  dissatisfied  with  me.  To  such  I 
would  say :  you  desire  peace,  and  you  blame  me  that  we  do  not 
have  it.  But  how  can  we  attain  it  ?  There  are  but  three  con 
ceivable  ways :  First — to  suppress  the  Rebellion  by  force  of 
arms.  This  I  am  trying  to  do.  Are  you  for  it  ?  If  you  are,  so 
far  we  are  agreed.  If  you  are  not  for  it,  a  second  way  is  to  give 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  213 

up  the  Union.  I  am  against  this.  Are  you  for  it  ?  If  you  are 
you  should  say  so  plainly.  If  you  are  not  for  force,  nor  yet  for 
dissolution,  there  only  remains  some  imaginable  compromise. 

I  do  not  believe  that  any  compromise  embracing  the  mainte 
nance  of  the  Union  is  now  possible.  All  that  I  learn  leads  to 
a  directly  opposite  belief.  The  strength  of  the  Rebellion  is  its 
military,  its  army.  That  army  dominates  all  the  country,  and  all 
the  people  within  its  range.  Any  offer  of  terms  made  by  any  man 
or  men  within  that  range,  in  opposition  to  that  army,  is  simply 
nothing  for  the  present;  because  such  man  or  men  have  no 
power  whatever  to  enforce  their  side  of  a  compromise,  if  one 
were  made  with  them. 

To  illustrate :  Suppose  refugees  from  the  South  and  peace 
men  from  the  North  get  together  in  convention,  and  frame  and 
proclaim  a  compromise  embracing  a  restoration  of  the  Union. 
In  what  way  can  that  compromise  be  used  to  keep  Lee's  army 
out  of  Pennsylvania?  Meade's  army  can  keep  Lee's  army 
out  of  Pennsylvania,  and,  I  think,  can  ultimately  drive  it  out 
of  existence.  But  no  paper  compromise  to  which  the  control 
lers  of  Lee's  army  are  not  agreed  can  at  all  affect  that  army.  In 
an  effort  at  such  compromise  we  would  waste  time,  which  the 
enemy  would  improve  to  our  disadvantage ;  and  that  would  be  all. 

A  compromise,  to  be  effective,  must  be  made  either  with 
those  who  control  the  rebel  army,  or  with  the  people,  first  lib 
erated  from  the  domination  of  that  army  by  the  success  of  our 
own  army.  Now,  allow  me  to  assure  you  that  no  word  or  inti 
mation  from  that  rebel  army,  or  from  any  of  the  men  control 
ling  it,  in  relation  to  any  peace  compromise,  has  ever  come  to 
my  knowledge  or  belief.  All  charges  and  insinuations  to  the 
contrary  are  deceptive  and  groundless.  And  I  promise  you 
that  if  any  such  proposition  shall  hereafter  come,  it  shall  not  be 
rejected  and  kept  a  secret  from  you.  I  freely  acknowledge  my 
self  to  be  the  servant  of  the  people,  according  to  the  bond  of 
service,  the  United  States  Constitution ;  and  that,  as  such,  I  am 
responsible  to  them. 

But,  to  be  plain.  You  are  dissatisfied  with  me  about  the 
negro.  Quite  likely  there  is  a  difference  of  opinion  between 
you  and  myself  upon  that  subject.  I  certainly  wish  that  all 


214  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

men  could  be  free,  while  you,  I  suppose,  do  not.  Yet,  1  have 
neither  adopted  nor  proposed  any  measure  which  is  not  con 
sistent  with  even  your  views,  provided  that  you  are  for  the 
Union.  I  suggested  compensated  emancipation ;  to  which  you 
replied  you  wished  not  be  taxed  to  buy  negroes.  But  I  had  not 
asked  you  to  be  taxed  to  buy  negroes,  except  in  such  way  as  to 
save  you  from  greater  taxation  to  save  the  Union,  exclusively  by 
other  means. 

You  dislike  the  Emancipation  Proclamation,  and  perhaps 
would  have  it  retracted.  You  say  it  is  unconstitutional.  I 
think  differently.  I  think  the  Constitution  invests  its  Com- 
mander-in-Chief  with  the  law  of  war  in  time  of  war.  The 
most  that  can  be  said,  if  so  much,  is,  that  slaves  are  property. 
Is  there,  has  there  ever  been,  any  question  that  by  the  law  of 
war,  property,  both  of  enemies  and  friends,  may  be  taken  when 
needed  ?  And  is  it  not  needed  whenever  it  helps  us  and 
hurts  the  enemy?  Armies,  the  world  over,  destroy  enemies 
property  when  they  cannot  use  it ;  and  even  destroy  their  own 
to  keep  it  from  the  enemy.  Civilized  belligerents  do  all  in  their 
power  to  help  themselves  or  hurt  the  enemy,  except  a  few  things 
regarded  as  barbarous  or  cruel.  Among  the  exceptions  are  the 
massacre  of  vanquished  foes  and  non-combatants,  male  and 
female. 

But  the  Proclamation,  as  law,  either  is  valid,  or  is  not  valid. 
If  it  is  not  valid  it  needs  no  retraction.  If  it  is  valid  it  cannot 
be  retracted,  any  more  than  the  dead  can  be  brought  to  life. 
Some  of  you  profess  to  think  its  retraction  would  operate  favor 
ably  for  the  Union.  Why  better  after  the  retraction  than  before 
the  issue  ?  There  was  more  than  a  year  and  a  half  of  trial  to 
suppress  the  Rebellion  before  the  Proclamation  was  issued,  the 
last  one  hundred  days  of  which  passed  under  an  explicit  notice 
that  it  was  coming,  unless  averted  by  those  in  revolt  returning 
to  their  allegiance.  The  war  has  certainly  progressed  as  favor 
ably  for  us  since  the  issue  of  the  Proclamation  as  before. 

I  know,  as  fully  as  one  can  know  the  opinions  of  others,  that 
some  of  the  commanders  of  our  armies  in  the  field,  who  have 
given  us  our  most  important  victories,  believe  the  emancipation 
policy  and  the  use  of  colored  troops  constitute  the  heaviest 


THE   MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  215 

blows  yet  dealt  to  the  Rebellion,  and  that  at  least  one  of  those 
important  successes  could  not  have  been  achieved  when  it  was 
but  for  the  aid  of  black  soldiers. 

Among  the  commanders  who  hold  these  views  are  some  who 
have  never  had  any  affinity  with  what  is  called  "  Abolitionism," 
or  with  "•  Republican  party  politics,''  but  who  hold  them  purely 
as  military  opinions.  I  submit  their  opinions  as  entitled  to 
some  weight  against  the  objections  often  urged  that  emancipa 
tion  and  arming  the  blacks  are  unwise  as  military  measures, 
and  were  not  adopted  as  such  in  good  faith. 

You  say  that  you  will  not  fight  to  free  negroes.  Some  of 
them  seem  willing  to  fight  for  you ;  but  no  matter.  Fight  you, 
then,  exclusively  to  save  the  Union.  I  issued  the  Proclamation 
on  purpose  to  aid  you  in  saving  the  Union.  Whenever  you 
shall  have  conquered  all  resistance  to  the  Union,  if  I  shall  urge 
you  to  continue  fighting,  it  will  be  an  apt  time  then  for  you  to 
declare  you  will  not  fight  to  free  negroes.  I  thought  that  int 
your  struggle  for  the  Union,  to  whatever  extent  the  negroes 
should  cease  helping  the  enemy,  to  that  extent  it  weakened  the 
enemy  in  his  resistance  to  you.  Do  you  think  differently  ?  I 
thought  that  whatever  negroes  can  be  got  to  do  as  soldiers, 
leaves  just  so  much  less  for  white  soldiers  to  do  in  saving  the 
Union.  Does  it  appear  otherwise  to  you  ?  But  negroes,  like 
other  people,  act  upon  motives.  Why  should  they  do  anything 
for  us  if  we  will  do  nothing  for  them  ?  If  they  stake  their 
lives  for  us  they  must  be  prompted  by  the  strongest  motive, 
even  the  promise  of  freedom.  And  the  promise,  being  made, 
must  be  kept. 

The  signs  look  better.  The  Father  of  Waiers  again  goes 
unvexed  to  the  sea.  Thanks  to  the  great  Northwest  for  it ;  nor 
yet  wholly  to  them.  Three  hundred  miles  up  they  met  New 
England,  Empire,  Keystone,  and  Jersey,  hewing  their  way  right 
and  left.  The  sunny  South,  too,  in  more  colors  than  one,  also 
lent  a  helping  hand.  On  the  spot,  their  part  of  the  history 
was  jotted  down  in  black  and  white.  The  job  was  a  great 
national  one,  and  let  none  be  slighted  who  bore  an  honorable 
part  in  it.  And  while  those  who  have  cleared  the  great  river 
may  well  be  proud,  even  that  is  not  all.  It  is  hard  to  say  that 


216  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

anything  has  been  more  bravely  and  well  done  than  at  Antie- 
tara,  Murfreesboro,  Gettysburg,  and  on  many  fields  of  less  note. 
Nor  must  Uncle  Sam's  web  feet  be  forgotten.  At  all  the  watery 
margins  they  have  been  present,  not  only  on  the  deep  sea,  the 
broad  bay,  and  the  rapid  river,  but  also  up  the  narrow,  muddy 
bayou,  and  wherever  the  ground  was  a  little  damp  they  have 
been  and  made  their  tracks.  Thanks  to  all.  For  the  great 
Republic — for  the  principle  it  lives  by  and  keeps  alive — for 
man's  vast  future — thanks  to  all. 

Peace  does  not  appear  so  distant  as  it  did.  I  hope  it  will 
come  soon  and  come  to  stay ;  and  so  come  as  to  be  worth  the 
keeping  in  all  future  time.  It  will  then  have  been  proved  that 
among  freemen  there  can  be  no  successful  appeal  from  the 
ballot  to  the  bullet,  and  that  they  who  take  such  appeal  are 
sure  to  lose  their  case  and  pay  the  cost.  And  there  will  be 
some  black  men  who  can  remember  that  with  silent  tongue,  and 
clinched  teeth,  and  steady  eye,  and  well-poised  bayonet,  they 
have  helped  mankind  on  to  this  great  consummation,  while  I 
fear  there  will  be  some  white  ones  unable  to  forget  that  with 
malignant  heart  and  deceitful  speech  they  have  striven  to  hin 
der  it. 

Still,  let  us  not  be  over-sanguine  of  a  speedy,  final  triumph. 
Let  us  be  quite  sober.  Let  us  diligently  apply  the  means,  never 
doubting  that  a  just  God,  in  His  own  good  time,  will  give  us 
the  rightful  result.  Yours,  very  truly,  A.  LINCOLN. 

HABEAS   CORPUS. 

It  was  pretended  by  those  who  wished  to  embarrass 
the  Government  that  although  Congress  had  authorized 
the  suspension  of  the  privilege  of  the  writ  of  habeas 
corpus,  that  suspension  could  only  take  place  legally  in 
those  military  districts  in  which  it  had  been  formally 
proclaimed.  To  meet  these  cavils  Mr.  Lincoln  issued  the 
following  proclamation  that  the  privilege  in  question  was 
suspended  throughout  the  United  States  in  all  cases 
effected  by  the  existing  rebellion. 


THE  MAKTYR'S  MONUMENT.  217 

PROCLAMATION. 

Whereas,  The  Constitution  of  the  United  States  has  ordained 
that  "  The  privilege  of  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  shall  not  be 
suspended,  unless,  when  in  cases  of  rebellion  or  invasion,  the 
public  safety  may  require  it ;  and,  whereas,  a  rebellion  was  ex 
isting  on  the  3d  day  of  March,  1863,  which  rebellion  is  still 
existing;  and,  whereas,  by  a  statute  which  was  approved  on 
that  day,  it  was  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Represen 
tatives  of  the  United  States,  in  Congress  assembled,  that  during 
the  present  insurrection  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
whenever,  in  his  judgment,  the  public  safety  may  require,  is 
authorized  to  suspend  the  privilege  of  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus 
in  any  case  throughout  the  United  States,  or  any  part  thereof; 
and,  whereas,  in  the  judgment  of  the  President  the  public  safety 
does  require  that  the  privilege  of  the  said  writ  shall  now  be 
suspended  throughout  the  United  States  in  cases  where,  by  the 
authority  of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  military,  naval 
and  civil  officers  of  the  United  States,  or  any  of  them,  hold 
persons  under  their  command  or  in  their  custody,  either  as 
prisoners  of  war,  spies,  or  aiders  or  abettors  of  the  enemy,  or 
officers,  soldiers,  or  seamen  enrolled,  drafted  or  mustered,  or 
enlisted  in,  or  belonging  to  the  land  or  naval  forces  of  the 
United  States,  or  as  deserters  therefrom,  or  otherwise  amenable 
to  military  law,  or  to  the  rules  and  articles  of  war,  or  the  rules 
and  regulations  prescribed  for  the  military  or  naval  services  by 
the  authority  of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  or  for 
resisting  the  draft,  or  for  any  other  offence  against  the  military 
or  naval  service ;  now,  therefore,  I,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  Presi 
dent  of  the  United  States,  do  hereby  proclaim  and  make  known 
to  all  whom  it  may  concern,  that  the  privilege  of  the  writ  of 
habeas  corpus  is  suspended  throughout  the  United  States,  in  the 
several  cases  before  mentioned,  and  that  this  suspension  will 
continue  throughout  the  duration  of  the  said  rebellion,  or  until 
this  Proclamation  shall,  by  a  subsequent  one,  to  be  issued  by 
the  President  of  the  United  States,  be  modified  and  revoked. 
And  I  do  hereby  require  all  magistrates,  attorneys,  and  other 
civil  officers  within  the  United  States,  and  all  officers  and  others 

10 


218  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

in  the  military  and  naval  services  of  the  United  States,  to  take 
distinct  notice  of  this  suspension  and  give  it  full  effect,  and  all 
citizens  of  the  United  States  to  conduct  and  govern  themselves 
accordingly,  and  in  conformity  with  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States,  and  the  laws  of  Congress  in  such  cases  made 
and  provided. 

In  testimony  whereof,  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand  and  caused 
the  seal  of  the  United  States  to  be  affixed,  this  fifteenth  day  of 
September,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred 
and  sixty-three,  and  of  the  independence  of  the  United  States 
of  America  the  eighty-eighth. 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 
By  the  President : 

WM.  H.  SEWARD,  Secretary  of  State. 

THANKSGIVING. 

To  observers  not  fully  informed,  or  who  saw  only  what 
they  wished  to  see,  the  rebellion  seemed  as  formidable  as 
ever.  But  very  important  progress  had  been  made  in  its 
suppression,  and  the  country  north  of  the  Potomac  had 
begun  to  recover  its  prosperity,  while  the  fear  of  foreign 
intervention  had  passed  away.  In  thankful  acknowledg 
ment  of  these  blessings  the  President  issued  the  following 

PROCLAMATION. 

The  year  that  is  drawing  towards  its  close  has  been  filled  with 
the  blessings  of  fruitful  fields  and  healthful  skies.  To  these 
bounties,  which  are  so  constantly  enjoyed  that  we  are  prone  to 
forget  the  source  from  which  they  come,  others  have  been  added 
which  are  of  so  extraordinary  a  nature  that  they  cannot  fail  to 
penetrate  and  soften  even  the  heart  which  is  habitually  insensi 
ble  to  the  ever  watchful  providence  of  Almighty  God.  In  the 
midst  of  a  civil  war  of  unequaled  magnitude  and  severity, 
which  has  sometimes  seemed  to  invite  and  provoke  the  aggres 
sions  of  foreign  states,  peace  has  been  preserved  with  all  nations, 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  219 

order  has  been  maintained,  the  laws  have  been  respected  and 
obeyed,  and  harmony  has  prevailed  everywhere,  except  in  the 
theatre  of  military  conflict,  while  that  theatre  has  been  greatly 
contracted  by  the  advancing  armies  and  navies  of  the  Union. 
The  needful  diversion  of  wealth  and  strength  from  the  fields  ot 
peaceful  industry  to  the  national  defence,  have  not  arrested  the 
plough,  the  shuttle,  or  the  ship.  The  axe  has  enlarged  the  borders 
of  our  settlements,  and  the  mines  as  well  of  iron  and  coal  as  of  the 
precious  metals,  have  yielded  even  more  abundantly  than  here 
tofore.  Population  has  steadily  increased,  notwithstanding  the 
waste  that  has  been  made  in  the  camp,  the  siege",  and  the  battle 
field  ;  and  the  country,  rejoicing  in  the  consciousness  of  aug 
mented  strength  and  vigor,  is  permitted  to  expect  a  continuance 
of  years,  with  large  increase  of  freedom. 

No  human  counsel  hath  devised,  nor  hath  any  mortal  hand 
worked  out  these  great  tilings.  They  are  the  gracious  gifts  of 
the  Most  High  God,  who,  while  dealing  with  us  in  anger  for 
our  sins,  hath  nevertheless  remembered  mercy. 

It  has  seemed  to  me  fit  and  proper  that  they  should  be 
solemnly,  reverently,  and  gratefully  acknowledged,  as  with  one 
heart  and  voice,  by  the  whole  American  people.  I  do,  therefore, 
invite  my  fellow-citizens  in  every  part  of  the  United  States,  and 
also  those  who  are  at  sea,  and  those  who  are  sojourning  in 
foreign  lands,  to  set  apart  and  observe  the  last  Thursday  of 
November  next,  as  a  day  of  thanksgiving  and  prayer  to  our 
beneficent  Father,  who  dwelleth  in  the  heavens.  And  I  recom 
mend  to  them  that,  while  offering  up  the  ascriptions  justly  due 
to  him  for  such  singular  deliverances  and  blessings,  they  do, 
also,  with  humble  penitence  for  our  national  perverseness  and  dis 
obedience,  commend  to  his  tender  care  all  those  who  have  become 
widows,  orphans,  mourners,  or  sufferers  in  the  lamentable  civil 
strife  in  which  we  are  unavoidably  engaged,  and  fervently  im 
plore  the  interposition  of  the  Almighty  hand  to  heal  the  wounds 
of  the  nation,  and  to  restore  it,  as  soon  as  may  be  consistent  with 
the  Divine  purposes,  to  the  full  enjoyment  of  peace,  harmony, 
tranquillity,  and  union. 

In  testimony  whereof,  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand,  and 
caused  the  se%l  of  the  United  States  to  be  affixed. 


220  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

Done  at  the  city  of  Washington,  this  third  day  of  October,  in 
[L.  s.]     the  year  of  our  Lord,  1863,  and  of  the  independence 
of  the  United  States  the  eighty-eighth. 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 
By  the  President : 

WM.  H.  SKWARD,  Secretary  of  State. 

THE    GETTYSBURG    CEMETERY. 

General  Meade's  victory  at  Gettysburg  had  done  away 
all  fear  of  a  serious  invasion  of  the  Free  States.  The 
importance  of  the  victory  gained  by  those  bloody  three- 
days'  bnttles,  made  some  commemoration  of  it  highly 
proper:  and  it  was  very  fitly  determined  that  a  monu 
ment  should  be  erected  in  a  cemetery  at  Gettysburg,  in 
which  all  the  soldiers  who  fell  in  those  battles  should  be 
interred.  Mr.  Lincoln  was  present  at  the  dedication  of 
that  cemetery  on  the  19th  of  November,  1863,  and  made 
the  following  brief,  but  now  world-renowned 

SPEECH. 

Four  score  and  seven  years  ago  our  fathers  brought  forth  upon 
this  continent  a  new  nation,  conceived  in  liberty^  and  dedicated 
to  the  proposition  that  all  men  are  created  equal./  Now  we  are 
engaged  in  a  great  civil  war,ltesting  whether  that  nation,  or  any 
nation  so  conceived  and  so  dedicated  can  long  endure,  ji  We  are 
met  on  a  great  battle-field  of  that  war.  We  have  come  to 
dedicate  a  portion  of  that  field  as  a  final  resting-place  for  those 
who  here  gave  their  lives  that  that  nation  might  live.jj  It  is 
altogether  fitting  and  proper  that  we  should  do  this.f  But  in  a 
larger  sense  we  cannot  dedicate^  we  cannot  consecrate,  we  can 
not  hallow  this  ground.  The  brave  men,  living  and  dead,  who 
struggled  here,  have  consecrated  it  far  above  our  power  to  add 
or  detract. .  The  world  will  little  note,  nor  long  remember, 
what  we  say  here,"  but  it  can  never  forget  what  tney  did  here. 


221 


It  is  for  us,  the  living,  rather  to  be  dedicated  here  to  the 
unfinished  work  which  they  who  fought  here  have  thus  far  so 
nobly  advanced/'  It  is  rather  for  us  to  be  here  dedicated  to 
the  great  task  remaining  before  us^  that  from  these  honored 
dead  we  take  increased  devotion  to  that  cause  for  which  they 
gave  the  last  full  measure  of  devotion  4  that  we  here  highly 
resolve  that  these  dead  shall  not  have  died  in  vain ;  that  this 
nation,  under  God,  shall  have  a  new  birth  of  freedom,  and  that 
government  of  the  people,  by  the  people,  and  for  the  people} 
shall  not  perish  from  the  earth. 


THE    VICTORY   OF    CHATTANOOGA. 

The  long  struggle  for  the  possession  of  East  Tennessee, 
the  key  of  the  country  southward,  was  brought  to  a  close 
by  General  Grant's  great  victory  at  Chattanooga,  after 
which  the  rebellion  settled  steadily  downward  to  its  final 
ruin.  Of  this  victory  the  President  made  the  following 
announcement,  accompanied  by  a  recommendation  of 
thanksgiving : 

EXECUTIVE  MANSION,  WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  December  7,  1963. 

Reliable  information  being  received  that  the  insurgent  force 
is  retreating  from  East  Tennessee,  under  circumstances  render 
ing  it  probable  that  the  Union  forces  can  not  hereafter  be  dis 
lodged  from  that  important  position  ;  and  esteeming  this  to  be 
of  high  national  consequence,  I  recommend  that  all  loyal 
people  do,  on  receipt  of  this  information,  assemble  at  their 
places  of  worship,  and  render  special  homage  and  gratitude  to 
Almighty  God  for  this  great  advancement  of  the  national  cause. 

A.  LINCOLN. 

THE    MISSOURI   FEUD. 

The  conflict  between  the  self-styled  Unconditional 
Union  party  and  those  who  really  were  loyal  to  the  repub- 


222  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

lie  without  condition,  continued,  and  in  fact  became  more 
and  more  bitter.  The  former  party  complained  that 
General  Schofield  and  Governor  Gamble  were  really 
friends  of  the  rebels  in  that  district.  How  truly  they 
were  so,  with  the  support  of  the  Government,  will  appear 
from  the  following  : 

INSTRUCTONS   TO    GENERAL   SCHOFIELD. 

EXECUTIVE  MANSION,  WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  October  1, 1863. 

General  John  M.  Schafield — There  is  no  organized  military 
force  in  avowed  opposition  to  the  General  Government  now  in 
Missouri,  and  if  any  shall  reappear,  your  duty  in  regard  to  it 
will  be  too  plain  to  require  any  special  instruction.  Still,  the 
condition  of  things,  both  there  and  elsewhere,  is  such  as  to 
render  it  indispensable  to  maintain,  for  a  time,  the  United 
States  military  establishment  in  that  State,  as  well  as  to  rely 
upon  it  for  a  fair  contribution  of  support  to  that  establishment 
generally.  Your  immediate  duty  in  regard  to  Missouri  now  is 
to  advance  the  efficiency  of  that  establishment,  and  to  so  use  it, 
as  far  as  practicable,  to  compel  the  excited  people  there  to  let 
one  another  alone. 

Under  your  recent  order,  which  I  have  approved,  you  will 
only  arrest  individuals,  and  suppress  assemblies  or  newspapers, 
when  they  may  be  working  palpable  injury  to  the  military  in 
your  charge ;  and  in  no  other  case  will  you  interfere  WTth  the 
expression  of  opinion  in  any  form,  or  allow  it  to  be  interfered 
with  violently  by  others.  In  this  you  have  a  discretion  to  exer 
cise  with  great  caution,  calmness,  and  forbearance. 

With  the  matter  of  removing  the  inhabitants  of  certain  coun 
ties  en  masse,  and  of  removing  certain  individuals  from  time  to 
time,  who  are  supposed  to  be  mischievous,  I  am  not  now  inter 
fering,  but  am  leaving  to  your  own  discretion. 

Nor  am  I  interfering  with  what  may  still  seem  to  you  to  be 
necessary  restrictions  upon  trade  and  intercourse.  I  think 
proper,  however,  to  enjoin  upon  you  the  following :  Allow  no 
part  of  the  military  under  your  command  to  be  engaged  in  either 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  223 

returning  fugitive  slaves,  or  in  forcing  or  enticing  slaves  from 
their  homes ;  and,  so  far  as  practicable,  enforce  the  same  for 
bearance  among  the  people. 

Report  to  me  your  opinion  upon  the  availability  for  good 
of  the  enrolled  militia  of  the  State.  Allow  no  one  to  enlist 
colored  troops,  except  upon  orders  from  you,  or  from  here 
through  you. 

Allow  no  one  to  assume  the  functions  of  confiscating  property, 
under  the  law  of  Congress,  or  otherwise,  except  upon  orders 
from  here. 

At  elections  see  that  those,  and  only  those,  are  allowed  to 
vote,  who  are  entitled  to  do  so  by  the  laws  of  Missouri, 
including  as  those  laws  the  restrictions  laid  by  the  Missouri 
Convention  upon  those  who  may  have  participated  in  the 
rebellion. 

So  far  as  practicable,  you  will,  by  means  of  your  military 
force,  expel  guerrillas,  marauders,  and  murderers,  and  all  who 
are  known  to  harbor,  aid,  or  abet  them.  But  in  like  manner 
you  will  repress  assumptions  of  unauthorized  individuals  -to 
perform  the  same  service,  because  under  pretence  of  doing  this 
they  become  marauders  and  murderers  themselves. 

To  now  restore  peace,  let  the  military  obey  orders ;  and  those 
not  of  the  military  leave  each  other  alone,  thus  not  breaking  the 
peace  themselves. 

In  giving  the  above  directions,  it  is  not  intended  to  restrain 
you  in  other  expedient  and  necessary  matters  not  falling  within 
their  range.  Your  obedient  servant, 

A.  LINCOLN. 

The  unconditional  anti-slavery  party,  however,  were 
not  to  be  thus  satisfied.  They  were  formidable  in  num 
bers,  and  bold  in  action.  They  held  a  convention  at  the 
capital  of  the  State,  and  sent  a  delegation  consisting  of 
one  from  each  county  of  the  State  to  make  certain  de 
mands  of  the  President.  They  also  attempted  with 
some  success  to  organize  a  support  of  their  views  and 
measures  throughout  the  Free  States.  To  the  address  of 


224  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

the  committee  of  delegates  Mr.  Lincoln  made  the  follow 
ing  reply: 

EXECUTIVE  MANSION,  WASHINGTON,  Oct.  5,  1863. 

Hon.  Charles  Drake  and  others,  Committee — Gentlemen — Your 
original  address,  presented  on  the  30th  ult.,  and  the  four  sup 
plementary  ones  presented  on  the  3d  inst.,  have  been  carefully 
considered.  I  hope  you  will  regard  the  other  duties  claiming 
my  attention,  together  with  the  great  length  and  importance  of 
these  documents,  as  constituting  a  sufficient  apology  for  my  not 
having  responded  sooner. 

These  papers,  framed  for  a  common  object,  consist  of  the 
things  demanded,  and  the  reasons  for  demanding  them. 

The  things  demanded  are  : 

First — That  General  Schofield  shall  be  relieved,  and  General 
Butler  be  appointed  as  Commander  of  the  Military  Department 
of  Missouri ; 

Second — That  the  system  of  enrolled  militia  in  Missouri  may 
be  broken  up,  and  National  forces  be  substituted  for  it;  and 

Third — That  at  elections,  persons  may  be  allowed  to  vote  who 
are  not  entitled  by  law  to  do  so. 

Among  the  reasons  given,  enough  of  suffering  and  wrong  to 
Union  men,  is  certainly,  and  I  suppose  truly,  stated.  Yet  the 
whole  case,  as  presented,  fails  to  convince  me  that  General  Scho 
field,  or  the  enrolled  militia,  is  responsible  for  that  suffering 
and  wrong.  The  whole  can  be  explained  on  a  more  charitable, 
and,  as  I  think,  a  more  rational  hypothesis. 

We  are  in  civil  war.  In  such  cases  there  always  is  a  main 
question  ;  but  in  this  case  that  question  is  a  perplexing  com 
pound — Union  and  Slavery.  It  thus  becomes  a  question  not  of 
two  sides  merely,  but  of  at  least  four  sides,  even  among  those 
who  are  for  the  Union,  saying  nothing  of  those  who  are  against 
it.  Thus,  those  who  are  for  the  Union  with,  but  not  without 
slavery — those  for  it  without  but  not  with — those  for  it  with  or 
without,  but  prefer  it  with,  and  those  for  it  with  or  without  but 
prefer  it  without. 

Among  these,  again,  is  a  subdivision  of  those  who  are  for 
gradual,  but  not  for  immediate,  and  those  who  are  for  immediate, 
but  not  for  gradual  extinction  of  slavery. 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.       225 

It  is  easy  to  conceive  that  all  these  shades  of  opinion  and 
even  more,  may  be  sincerely  entertained  by  honest  and  truthful 
men.  Yet,  all  being  for  the  Union,  by  reason  of  these  differen 
ces  each  will  prefer  a  different  way  of  sustaining  the  Union. 
At  once,  sincerity  is  questioned,  and  motives  are  assailed.  Ac 
tual  war  coming,  blood  grows  hot,  and  blood  is  spilled- 
Thought  is  forced  from  old  channels  into  confusion.  Deception 
breeds  and  thrives.  Confidence  dies,  and  universal  suspicion 
reigns.  Each  man  feels  an  impulse  to  kill  his  neighbor,  lest  he 
be  killed  by  him.  Revenge  and  retaliation  follow.  And  all 
this,  as  before  said,  may  be  among  honest  men  only.  But  this 
is  not  all.  Every  foul  bird  comes  abroad,  and  every  dirty  rep 
tile  rises  up.  These  add  crime  to  confusion.  Strong  measures 
deemed  indispensable  but  harsh  at  best,  such  men  niakv.  .,-orse 
by  maladministration.  Murders  for  old  grudges,  and  murders 
for  pelf  proceed  under  any  cloak  that  will  best  serve  for  the 
occasion. 

These  causes  amply  account  for  what  has  occurred  in  Missouri, 
without  ascribing  it  to  the  weakness  or  wickedness  of  any  gen 
eral.  The  newspaper  files,  those  chroniclers  of  current  events, 
will  show  that  the  evils  now  complained  of,  were  quite  as  prev 
alent  under  Fremont,  Hunter,  Halleck,  and  Curtis,  as  under 
Schofield.  If  the  former  had  greater  force  opposed  to  them, 
they  also  had  greater  force  with  which  to  meet  it.  When  the 
organized  rebel  army  left  the  State,  the  main  Federal  force  had 
to  go  also,  leaving  the  Department  commander  at  home,  rela 
tively  no  stronger  than  before.  Without  disparaging  any,  I 
affirm  with  confidence,  that  no  commander  of  that  Department 
has,  in  proportion  to  his  means,  done  better  than  General  Scho 
field. 

The  first  specific  charge  against  General  Schofield  is,  that  the 
enrolled  militia  was  placed  under  his  command,  whereas  it  had 
not  been  placed  under  the  command  of  General  Curtis.  The 
fact  is,  I  believe,  true ;  but  you  do  not  point  out,  nor  can  I  con 
ceive  how  that  did,  or  could,  injure  loyal  men  or  the  Union 
cause. 

You  charge  that  General  Curtis  being  superseded  by  General 
Schofield,  Franklin  A.  Dick  was  superseded  by  Janies  0.  Broad 


226  THE 

head  as  Provost-Marshal  General.  No  very  specific  showing  is 
made  as  to  how  this  did  or  could  injure  the  Union  cause.  It 
recalls,  however,  the  condition  of  things,  as  presented  to  me, 
which  led  to  a  change  of  commander  of  that  Department. 

To  restrain  contraband  intelligence  and  trade,  a  system  of 
searches,  seizures,  permits  and  passes,  had  been  introduced,  I 
think,  by  General  Fremont.  When  General  Halleck  came,  he 
found  and  continued  the  system,  and  added  an  order,  appli 
cable  to  some  parts  of  the  State,  to  levy  and  collect  contri 
butions  from  noted  rebels,  to  compensate  losses,  and  relieve  des 
titution  caused  by  the  rebellion.  The  action  of  General  Fremont 
and  General  Halleck,  as  stated,  constituted  a  sort  of  system 
which  General  Curtis  found  in  full  operation  when  he  took 
command  of  the  Department.  That  there  was  a  necessity  for 
something  of  the  sort  was  clear ;  but  that  it  could  only  be  jus 
tified  by  stern  necessity,  and  that  it  was  liable  to  great  abuse  in 
administration,  was  equally  clear.  Agents  to  execute  it,  con 
trary  to  the  great  prayer,  were  led  into  temptation.  Some 
might,  while  others  would  not  resist  that  temptation.  It  was 
not  possible  to  hold  any  to  a  very  strict  accountability ;  and 
those  yielding  to  the  temptation,  would  sell  permits  and  passes 
to  those  who  would  pay  most,  and  most  readily  for  them  ;  and 
would  seize  property  and  collect  levies  in  the  aptest  way  to 
fill  their  own  pockets.  Money  being  the  object,  the  man  hav 
ing  money,  whether  loyal  or  disloyal,  would  be  a  victim.  This 
practice  doubtless  existed  to  some  extent,  and  it  was  a  real 
additional  evil,  that  it  could  be,  and  was  plausibly  charged  to 
exist  in  greater  extent  than  it  did. 

When  General  Curtis  took  command  of  the  Department,  Mr. 
Dick,  against  whom  I  never  knew  anything  to  allege,  had  gen 
eral  charge  of  this  system.  A  controversy  in  regard  to  it  rap 
idly  grew  into  almost  unmanageable  proportions.  One  side 
ignored  the  necessity  and  magnified  the  evils  of  the  system,  while 
the  other  ignored  the  evils  and  magnified  the  necessity ;  and 
each  bitterly  assailed  the  other.  I  could  not  fail  to  see  that  the 
controversy  enlarged  in  the  same  proportion  as  the  professed 
Union  men  there  distinctly  took  sides  in  two  opposing  political 
parties.  I  exhausted  my  wits,  and  very  nearly  my  patience 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  227 

also,  in  efforts  to  convince  both  that  the  evils  they  charged  on 
each  other  were  inherent  in  the  case,  and  could  not  be  cured  by 
giving  either  party  a  victory  over  the  other. 

Plainly,  the  irritating  system  was  not  to  be  perpetual ;  and  it 
was  plausibly  urged  that  it  could  be  modified  at  once  with  advan 
tage.  The  case  could  scarcely  be  worse,  and  whether  it  could  be 
made  better  could  only  be  determined  by  a  trial.  In  this  view, 
and  not  to  ban,  or  brand  General  Curtis,  or  to  give  a  victory  to 
any  party,  I  made  the  change  of  commander  for  the  Department. 
I  now  learn  that  soon  after  this  change  Mr.  Dick  was  removed, 
and  that  Mr.  Brodhead,  a  gentleman  of  no  less  good  character, 
was  put  in  the  place.  The  mere  fact  of  this  change  is  more 
distinctly  complained  of  than  is  any  conduct  of  the  new  officer, 
or  other  consequence  of  the  change. 

I  gave  the  new  commander  no  instructions  as  to  the  adminis 
tration  of  the  system  mentioned,  beyond  what  is  contained  in 
the  private  letter  afterward  surreptitiously  published,  in  which 
I  directed  him  to  act  solely  for  the  public  good,  and  independ 
ently  of  both  parties.  Neither  anything  you  have  presented 
me,  nor  anything  I  have  otherwise  learned,  has  convinced  me 
that  he  has  been  unfaithful  to  this  charge. 

Imbecility  is  urged  as  one  cause  for  removing  General  Scho- 
field,  and  the  late  massacre  at  Lawrence,  Kansas,  is  pressed  as 
evidence  of  that  imbecility.  To  my  mind  that  fact  scarcely 
tends  to  prove  the  proposition.  That  massacre  is  only  an  ex 
ample  of  what  Grierson,  John  Morgan,  and  many  others,  might 
have  repeatedly  done  on  their  respective  raids,  had  they  chosen 
to  incur  the  personal  hazard,  and  possessed  the  fiendish  hearts 
to  do  it. 

The  charge  is  made  that  General  Schofield,  on  purpose  to 
protect  the  Lawrence  murderers,  would  not  allow  them  to  be 
pursued  into  Missouri.  While  no  punishment  could  be  too 
sudden  or  too  severe  for  those  murderers,  I  am  well  satisfied 
that  the  preventing  of  the  threatened  remedial  raid  into  Mis 
souri  was  the  only  way  to  avoid  an  indiscriminate  massacre 
there,  including  probably  more  innocent  than  guilty.  Instead 
of  condemning,  I  therefore  approve  what  I  understand  General 
Schofield  did  in  that  respect. 


228  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT 

The  charge  that  General  Schofield  had  purposely  withheld 
protection  from  loyal  people,  and  purposely  facilitated  the 
objects  of  the  disloyal,  are  altogether  beyond  my  power  of  be 
lief.  I  do  not  arraign  the  veracity  of  gentlemen  as  to  the  facts 
complained  of;  but  I  do  more  than  question  the  judgment 
which  would  infer  that  these  facts  occurred  in  accordance  with 
the  purposes  of  General  Schofield. 

With  my  present  views,  I  must  decline  to  remove  General 
Schofield.  In  this  I  decide  nothing  against  General  Butler.  I 
sincerely  wish  it  were  convenient  to  assign  him  a  suitable  com 
mand. 

In  order  to  meet  some  existing  evils,  I  have  addressed  a  letter 
of  instruction  to  General  Schofield,  a  copy  of  which  I  inclose 
to  you.  As  to  the  "  Enrolled  Militia,"  I  shall  endeavor  to 
ascertain,  better  than  I  now  know,  what  is  its  exact  value.  Let 
me  say  now,  however,  that  your  proposal  to  substitute  national 
force  for  the  "  Enrolled  Militia,"  implies  that,  in  your  judgment, 
the  latter  is  doing  something  which  needs  to  be  done ;  and  if 
so,  the  proposition  to  throw  that  force  away,  and  to  supply  its 
place  by  bringing  other  forces  from  the  field  where  they  are 
urgently  needed,  seems  to  me  very  extraordinary.  Whence 
shall  they  come?  Shall  they  be  withdrawn  from  Banks,  or 
Grant,  or  Steele,  or  Rosecrans  ? 

Few  things  have  been  so  grateful  to  my  anxious  feelings,  as 
when,  in  June  last,  the  local  force  in  Missouri  aided  General 
Schofield  to  so  promptly  send  a  large  general  force  to  the  relief 
of  General  Grant,  then  investing  Vicksburg,  and  menaced  from 
without  by  General  Johnston.  Was  this  all  wrong  ?  Should 
the  "  enrolled  militia"  then  have  been  broken  up,  and  General 
Heron  kept  from  Grant  to  police  Missouri  ?  So  far  from  finding 
cause  to  object,  I  confess  to  a  sympathy  for  whatever  relieves 
our  general  force  in  Missouri,  and  allows  it  to  serve  elsewhere. 

I  therefore,  as  at  present  advised,  cannot  attempt  the  des 
truction  of  the  enrolled  militia  of  Missouri.  I  may  add,  that 
the  force  being  under  the  national  military  control,  it  is  also 
within  the  proclamation  with  regard  to  the  habeas  corpus. 

I  concur  in  the  propriety  of  your  request  in  regard  to  elections, 
and  have,  as  you  see,  directed  General  Schofield  accordingly. 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  229 

I  do  not  feel  justified  to  enter  upon  the  broad  field  you  present 
in  regard  to  the  political  differences  between  Radicals  and 
Conservatives.  From  time  to  time  I  have  done  and  said  what 
appeared  to  me  proper  to  do  and  say.  The  public  knows  it 
well.  It  obliges  nobody  to  follow  me,  and  I  trust  it  obliges  me 
to  follow  nobody.  The  Radicals  and  Conservatives  each  agree 
with  me  in  some  things  and  disagree  in  others.  I  could  wish 
both  to  agree  with  me  in  all  things  ;  for  then  they  would  agree 
with  each  other,  and  would  be  too  strong  for  any  foe  from  any 
quarter.  They,  however,  choose  to  do  otherwise,  and  I  do  not 
question  their  right.  I,  too,  shall  do  what  seems  to  be  my  duty. 
I  hold  whoever  commands  in  Missouri  or  elsewhere  responsible 
to  me,  and  not  to  either  Radicals  or  Conservatives.  It  is  my 
duty  to  hear  all ;  but,  at  last,  I  must,  within  my  sphere,  judge 
what  to  do  and  what  to  forbear. 

Your  obedient  sen-ant,  A.  LINCOLN. 

THE    CONGRESSIONAL   SESSION    OF   1863-4. 

Congress  assembled  in  regular  session  on  the  7th  of 
December,  1863,  and  received  from  the  President  the 


following 


MESSAGE. 


Fellow- Citizens  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives: — 
Another  year  of  health  and  of  sufficiently  abundant  harvests 
has  passed.  For  these,  and  especially  for  the  improved  condi 
tion  of  our  national  affairs,  our  renewed  and  profoundest 
gratitude  to  God  is  due.  We  remain  in  peace  and  friendship 
with  foreign  Powers.  The  efforts  of  disloyal  citizens  of  the 
United  States  to  involve  us  in  foreign  wars  to  aid  an  inexcusa 
ble  insurrection  have  been  unavailing.  Her  Britannic  Majesty's 
Government,  as  was  justly  expected,  have  exercised  their 
authority  to  prevent  the  departure  of  new  hostile  expeditions 
from  British  ports. 

The  Emperor  of  France  has,  by  a  like  proceeding,  promptly 
vindicated  the  neutrality  which  he  proclaimed  at  the  beginwijjr 
of  the  contest. 


230  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

Questions  of  great  intricacy  and  importance  have  arisen  out 
of  the  blockade,  and  other  belligerent  operations  between  the 
Government  and  several  of  the  maritime  Powers,  but  they 
have  been  discussed,  and,  as  far  as  was  possible,  accommodated 
in  a  spirit  of  frankness,  justice,  and  mutual  good-will. 

It  is  especially  gratifying  that  our  prize  courts,  by  the  im 
partiality  of  their  adjudications,  have  commanded  the  respect 
and  confidence  of  maritime  Powers. 

The  supplemental  treaty  between  the  United  States  and  Great 
Britain  for  the  suppression  of  the  African  Slave-trade,  made  on 
the  17th  day  of  February  last,  has  been  duly  ratified  and  car 
ried  into  execution.  It  is  believed  that  so  far  as  American 
ports  and  American  citizens  are  concerned,  that  inhuman  and 
odious  traffic  has  been  brought  to  an  end. 

******** 

Incidents  occurring  in  the  progress  of  our  civil  war  have 
forced  upon  my  attention  the  uncertain  state  of  international 
questions  touching  the  rights  of  foreigners  in  this  country  and 
of  United  States  citizens  abroad. 

In  regard  to  some  governments,  these  rights  are  at  least 
partially  defined  by  treaties.  In  no  instance,  however,  is  it 
expressly  stipulated  that  in  the  event  of  civil  war  a  foreigner 
residing  in  this  country,  within  the  lines  of  the  insurgents,  is 
to  be  exempted  from  the  rule  which  classes  him  as  a  belligerent, 
in  whose  behalf  the  government  of  his  country  cannot  expect 
any  privileges  or  immunities  distinct  from  that  character.  T 
regret  to  say,  however,  that  such  claims  have  been  put  forward, 
and,  in  some  instances,  in  behalf  of  foreigners  who  have  lived 
in  the  United  States  the  greater  part  of  their  lives. 

There  is  reason  to  believe  that  many  persons  born  in  foreign 
countries,  who  have  declared  their  intention  to  become  citizens, 
or  who  have  been  fully  naturalized,  have  evaded  the  military 
duty  required  of  them  by  denying  the  fact,  and  thereby  throw 
ing  upon  the  Government  the  burden  of  proof.  It  has  been 
found  difficult  or  impracticable  to  obtain  this  proof,  from  the 
want  of  guides  to  the  proper  sources  of  information.  These 
might  be  supplied  by  requiring  Clerks  of  Courts,  where  decla 
rations  of  intention  may  be  made,  or  naturalizations  effected,  to 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  231 

send  periodically  lists  of  the  names  of  the  persons  naturalized 
or  declaring  their  intention  to  become  citizens,  to  the  Secretary 
of  the  Interior,  in  whose  Department  those  names  might  be 
arranged  and  printed  for  general  information.  There  is  also 
reason  to  believe  that  foreigners  frequently  become  citizens  of 
the  United  States  for  the  sole  purpose  of  evading  duties  im 
posed  by  the  laws  of  their  native  countries,  to  which,  on 
becoming  naturalized  here,  they  at  once  repair,  and  though 
never  returning  to  the  United  States,  they  still  claim  the  inter 
position  of  this  Government  as  citizens. 

Many  altercations  and  great  prejudices  have  heretofore  arisen 
out  of  this  abuse.  It  is,  therefore,  submitted  to  your  serious 
consideration.  It  might  be  advisable  to  fix  a  limit  beyond 
which  no  citizen  of  the  United  States  residing  abroad  may  claim 
the  interposition  of  his  Government. 

The  right  of  sufirage  has  often  been  assumed  and  exercised 
by  aliens  under  pretences  of  naturalization,  which  they  have 
disavowed  when  drafted  into  the  military  sendee. 

Our  ministers  abroad  have  been  faithful  in  defending  Amer 
ican  rights.  In  protecting  commercial  interests,  our  consuls 
have  necessarily  had  to  encounter  increased  labors  and  respon 
sibilities  growing  out  of  the  war.  These  they  have,  for  the 
most  part,  met  and  discharged  with  zeal  and  efficiency.  This 
acknowledgment  justly  includes  those  consuls  who,  residing  in 
Morocco,  Egypt,  Turkey,  Japan,  China,  and  other  Oriental 
countries,  are  charged  with  complex  functions  and  extraordi 
nary  powers. 

The  condition  of  the  several  organized  territories  is  generally 
satisfactory,  although  Indian  distubances  in  New  Mexico  have 
not  been  entirely  suppressed. 

The  mineral  resources  of  Colorado,  Nevada,  Idaho,  New  Mex 
ico,  and  Arizona,  are  proving  far  richer  than  has  been  hereto 
fore  understood.  I  lay  before  you  a  communication  on  this 
subject  from  the  Governor  of  New  Mexico.  I  again  submit  to 
your  consideration  the  expediency  of  establishing  a  system  for 
the  encouragement  of  emigration.  Although  this  source  of  na 
tional  wealth  and  strength  is  again  flowing  with  greater  freedom 
than  for  several  years  before  the  insurrection  ^eurred,  there  is 


232 


still  a  great  deficiency  of  laborers  in  every  field  of  industry, 
especially  in  agriculture  and  in  our  mines,  as  well  of  iron  and 
coal  as  of  the  precious  metals.  While  the  demand  for  labor  is 
thus  increased  here,  tens  of  thousands  of  persons,  destitute  of 
remunerative  occupation,  are  thronging  our  foreign  consulates, 
and  offering  to  emigrate  to  the  United  States,  if  essential,  but 
very  cheap  assistance  can  be  afforded  them.  It  is  easy  to  see 
that  under  the  sharp  discipline  of  civil  war  the  nation  is  begin 
ning  a  new  life.  This  noble  effort  demands  the  aid,  and  ought 
to  receive  the  attention  and  support  of  the  Government. 

Injuries  unforeseen  by  the  Government,  and  unintended,  may 
in  some  cases  have  been  inflicted  on  the  subjects  or  citizens  of 
foreign  countries,  both  at  sea  and  on  land,  by  persons  in  the 
service  of  the  United  States.  As  this  Government  expects  re 
dress  from  other  Powers  when  similar  injuries  are  inflicted  by 
persons  in  their  service  upon  citizens  of  the  United  States,  we 
must  be  prepared  to  do  justice  to  foreigners.  If  the  existing 
judicial  tribunals  are  inadequate  to  this  purpose,  a  special 
Court  may  be  authorized,  with  power  to  hear  and  decide  such 
claims  of  the  character  referred  to  as  may  have  arisen  under 
treaties  and  the  public  law.  Conventions  for  adjusting  the 
claims  by  joint  commission  have  been  proposed  to  some  Gov 
ernments,  but  no  definite  answer  to  the  proposition  has  yet 
been  received  from  any. 

In  the  course  of  the  session  I  shall  probably  have  occasion  to 
request  you  to  provide  indemnification  to  claimants  where  de 
crees  of  restitution  have  been  rendered,  and  damages  awarded 
by  Admiralty  Courts,  and  in  other  cases,  where  this  Govern 
ment  may  be  acknowledged  to  be  liable  in  principle,  and  where 
the  amount  of  that  liability  has  been  ascertained  by  an  informal 
arbitration,  the  proper  officers  of  the  Treasury  have  deemed 
themselves  required  by  the  law  of  the  United  States  upon  the 
subject,  to  demand  a  tax  upon  the  incomes  of  foreign  consuls  in 
this  country.  While  such  a  demand  may  not,  in  strictness,  be  in 
derogation  of  public  law,  or  perhaps  of  any  existing  treaty  between 
the  United  States  and  a  foreign  country,  the  expediency  of  so 
far  modifying  the  act  as  to  exempt  from  tax  the  income  of  such 
consuls  as  are  not  citizens  of  the  United  States,  derived  from 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  233 

the  emoluments  of  their  office,  or  from  property  not  situate  in 
the  United  States,  is  submitted  to  your  serious  consideration. 
I  make  this  suggestion  upon  the  ground  that  a  comity  which 
ought  to  be  reciprocated  exempts  our  consuls  in  all  other  coun 
tries  from  taxation  to  the  extent  thus  indicated.  The  United 
States,  I  think,  ought  not  to  be  exceptionally  illiberal  to  inter 
national  trade  and  commerce. 

The  operations  of  the  treasury  during  the  last  year  have  been 
successfully  conducted.  The  enactment  by  Congress  of  a  Na 
tional  Banking  Law  has  proved  a  valuable  support  of  the  pub 
lic  credit,  and  the  general  legislation  in  relation  to  loans  has 
fully  answered  the  expectation  of  its  favorers.  Some  amend 
ment  may  be  required  to  perfect  existing  laws,  but  no  change  in 
their  principles  or  general  scope  is  believed  to  be  needed.  Since 
these  measures  have  been  in  operation,  all  demands  on  the  Treas 
ury,  including  the  pay  of  the  Army  and  Navy,  have  been 
promptly  met  and  fully  satisfied.  No  considerable  body  of 
troops,  it  is  believed,  were  ever  more  amply  provided  and  more 
liberally  and  punctually  paid ;  and,  it  may  be  added,  that  by 
no  people  were  the  burthens  incident  to  a  great  war  more  cheer 
fully  borne. 

The  receipts  during  the  year,  from  all  sources,  including 
loans  and  the  balance  in  the  Treasury  at  its  commencement, 
were  $901,125,674  86,  and  the  aggregate  disbursements  $895,- 
796,630  65,  leaving  a  balance  on  the  1st  of  July,  1863,  of  $5,329,- 
044  21.  Of  the  receipts,  there  were  derived  from  Customs, 
$69,059,642  40 ;  from  Internal  Revenue,  $37,640,787  95 ;  from 
direct  tax,  $1,485,103  61 ;  from  lands,  $167,617  17 ;  from  mis 
cellaneous  sources,  $3,046,615  35;  and  from  loans,  $776,682,- 
361  57,  making  the  aggregate,  $901,125,674  86.  Of  the  dis 
bursements  there  were  for  the  civil  service,  $23,253,922  08  ;  for 
pensions  and  Indians,  $4,216,520  79;  for  interest  on  public 
debt,  $24,729,846  51 ;  for  the  War  Department,  $599,298,600  83 ; 
for  the  Navy  Department,  $63,211,105  27;  for  payment  of 
funded  and  temporary  debt,  $181,086,635  07,  making  the 
aggregate  $895,796,630  65,  and  leaving  the  balance  of 
$5,329,044  21. 

But  the  payment  of  the  funded  and  temporary  debt,  having 


234  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

been  made  from  moneys  borrowed  during  the  year,  must  be 
regarded  as  merely  nominal  payments,  and  the  moneys  bor 
rowed  to  make  them  as  merely  nominal  receipts ;  and  their 
amount,  $181,086,535  07,  should  therefore  be  deducted  both 
from  receipts  and  disbursements.  This  being  done,  there  remains 
as  actual  receipts,  $720,039,039  79,  and  the  actual  disburse 
ments,  $714,709,995  58,  leaving  the  balance  as  already  stated. 

The  a  -tual  receipts  and  disbursements  for  the  first  quarter, 
and  the  estimated  receipts  and  disbursements  for  the  remaining 
three  quarters  of  the  current  fiscal  year,  1864,  will  be  shown  in 
detail  by  the  report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  to  which 
I  invite  your  attention. 

It  is  sufficient  to  say  here,  that  it  is  not  believed  that  actual 
results  will  exhibit  a  state  of  the  finances  less  favorable  to  the 
country  than  the  estimates  of  that  officer  heretofore  submitted, 
while  it  is  confidently  expected  that,  at  the  close  of  the  year, 
both  disbursements  and  debt  will  be  found  very  considerably 
less  than  has  been  anticipated. 

The  report  of  the  Secretary  of  War  is  a  document  of  great 
interest.  It  consists  of : 

First. — The  military  operations  of  the  year  detailed  in  the 
report  of  the  General-in-Chief. 

Second. — The  organization  of  colored  persons  into  the  war 
service. 

Third. — The  exchange  of  prisoners  fully  set  forth  in  the  let 
ter  of  General  Hitchcock. 

Fourth. — The  operations  under  the  act  for  enrolling  and  call 
ing  out  the  National  forces,  detailed  in  the  report  of  the  Provost- 
Marshal  General. 

Fifth. — The  organization  of  the  Invalid  Corps.     And — 

Sixth. — The  operations  of  the  several  departments  of  the 
Quartermaster-General,  Commissary-General,  Paymaster-Gen 
eral,  Chief  of  Engineers,  Chief  of  Ordnance,  and  Surgeon-Gen 
eral.  It  has  appeared  impossible  to  make  a  valuable  summary 
of  this  report,  except  such  as  would  be  too  extended  for  this 
place,  and  hence  I  content  myself  by  asking  your  careful  atten 
tion  to  the  report  itself.  The  duties  devolving  on  the  naval 
branch  of  the  service  during  the  year,  and  throughout  the 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  235 

whole  of  this  unhappy  contest,  have  been  discharged  with 
fidelity  and  eminent  success.  The  extensive  blockade  has  been 
constantly  increasing  in  efficiency,  as  the  navy  has  expanded, 
yet  on  so  long  a  line  it  has,  so  far,  been  impossible  entirely  to  sup 
press  illicit  trade.  From  returns  received  at  the  Navy  Department, 
it  appears  that  more  than  one  thousand  vessels  have  been  cap 
tured  since  the  blockade  was  instituted,  and  that  the  value  of 
prizes  already  sent  in  for  adjudication,  amounts  to  over  thirteen 
millions  of  dollars. 

The  naval  force  of  the  United  States  consists  at  this  time  of 
five  hundred  and  eighty-eight  vessels  completed  and  in  course 
of  completion,  and  of  these  seventy-five  are  iron-clad  or 
armored  steamers.  The  events  of  the  war  give  an  increased 
interest  and  importance  to  the  navy,  which  will  probably  extend 
beyond  the  war  itself.  The  armored  vessels  in  our  navy,  com 
pleted  and  in  service,  or  which  are  under  contract  and  ap 
proaching  completion,  are  believed  to  exceed  in  number  those 
of  any  other  Power ;  but  while  these  may  be  relied  upon  for 
harbor  defence  and  coast  service,  others  of  greater  strength  and 
capacity  will  be  necessary  for  cruising  purposes,  and  to  main 
tain  our  rightful  position  on  the  ocean. 

The  change  that  has  taken  place  in  naval  vessels  and  naval 
warfare  since  the  introduction  of  steam  as  a  motive  power  for 
ships  of  war,  demands  either  a  corresponding  change  in  some 
of  our  existing  navy-yards,  or  the  establishment  of  new  ones, 
for  the  construction  and  necessary  repair  of  modern  naval  ves 
sels.  No  inconsiderable  embarrassment,  delay,  and  public  injury 
have  been  experienced  from  the  want  of  such  governmental 
establishments. 

The  necessity  of  such  a  navy-yard,  so  furnished,  at  some 
suitable  place  upon  the  Atlantic  seaboard,  has,  on  repeated 
occasions,  been  brought  to  the  attention  of  Congress  by  the 
Navy  Department,  and  is  again  presented  in  the  report  of  the 
Secretary,  which  accompanies  this  communication.  I  think  it 
my  duty  to  invite  your  special  attention  to  this  subject,  and 
also  to  that  of  establishing  a  yard  and  depot  for  naval  pur 
poses  upon  one  of  the  western  rivers.  A  naval  force  has  been 
created  upon  these  interior  waters,  and  under  many  disadvan- 


236  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

tages,  within  a  little  more  than  two  years,  exceeding  in  number 
the  whole  naval  force  of  the  country  at  the  commencement  of 
the  present  Administration.  Satisfactory  and  important  as  have 
been  the  performances  of  the  heroic  men  of  the  navy  at  this 
interesting  period,  they  are  scarcely  more  wonderful  than  the 
success  of  our  mechanics  and  artisans  in  the  production  of  war- 
vessels,  which  has  created  a  new  form  of  naval  power. 

Our  country  has  advantages  superior  to  any  other  nation  in 
our  resources  of  iron  and  timber,  with  inexhaustible  quantities 
of  fuel  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  both,  and  all  available  and 
in  close  proximity  to  navigable  waters.  Without  the  advantage 
of  public  works,  the  resources  of  the  nation  have  been  devel 
oped,  and  its  power  displayed,  in  the  construction  of  a  navy  of 
such  magnitude,  which  has  at  the  very  period  of  its  creation 
rendered  signal  service  to  the  Union. 

The  increase  of  the  number  of  seamen  in  the  public  service 
from  7,500  men  in  the  Spring  of  1861,  to  about  34,000  at  the 
present  time,  has  been  accomplished  without  special  legislation 
or  extraordinary  bounties  to  promote  that  increase.  It  has 
been  found,  however,  that  the  operation  of  the  draft,  with  the 
high  bounties  paid  for  army  recruits,  is  beginning  to  affect 
injuriously  the  naval  service,  and  will,  if  not  corrected,  be  likely 
to  impair  its  efficiency  by  detaching  seamen  from  their  proper 
vocation,  and  inducing  them  to  enter  the  army.  I  therefore 
respectfully  suggest  that  Congress  might  aid  both  the  army  and 
naval  service  by  a  definite  provision  on  this  subject,  which  would 
at  the  same  time  be  equitable  to  the  communities  more  espe 
cially  interested. 

I  commend  to  your  consideration  the  suggestions  of  the  Sec 
retary  of  the  Navy,  in  regard  to  the  policy  of  fostering  and 
training  seamen,  and  also  the  education  of  officers  and  engi 
neers  for  the  naval  service.  The  Naval  Academy  has  rendered 
signal  service  in  preparing  midshipmen  for  the  highly  responsi 
ble  duties  which  in  after  life  they  will  be  required  to  perform. 
In  order  that  the  country  should  not  be  deprived  of  the  proper 
quota  of  educated  officers,  for  which  legal  provision  has  been 
made  at  the  naval  school,  the  vacancies  caused  by  the  neglect 
or  omission  to  make  nominations  from  the  States  in  insurrec  • 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  237 

tion,  have  been  filled  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy.  The 
school  is  now  more  full  and  complete  than  at  any  former 
period,  and  in  every  respect  entitled  to  the  favorable  considera 
tion  of  Congress. 

******** 
The  quantity  of  land  disposed  of  during  the  last,  and  first 
quarter  of  the  present,  fiscal  years,  was  three  millions,  eight  hun 
dred  and  forty-one  thousand,  five  hundred  and  forty-nine  acres, 
of  which  one  hundred  and  sixty-one  thousand,  nine  hundred 
and  eleven  acres  were  sold  for  cash.  One  million,  four  hundred 
and  fifty-six  thousand,  five  hundred  and  fourteen  acres,  were 
taken  up  under  the  Homestead  Law,  and  the  residue  disposed 
of  under  laws  granting  lands  for  military  bounties,  for  railroad 
and  other  purposes.  It  also  appears  that  the  sale  of  public 
lands  is  largely  on  the  increase. 

It  has  long  been  a  cherished  opinion  of  some  of  our  wisest 
statesmen  that  the  people  of  the  United  States  had  a  higher 
and  more  enduring  interest  in  the  early  settlement  and  substan 
tial  cultivation  of  the  public  lands  than  in  the  amount  of  direct 
revenue  to  be  derived  from  the  sale  of  them.  This  opinion  has 
had  a  controlling  influence  in  shaping  legislation  upon  the  sub 
ject  of  our  national  domain.  I  may  cite,  as  evidence  of  this, 
the  liberal  measures  adopted  in  reference  to  actual  settlers,  the 
grant  to  the  States  of  the  overflowed  lands  within  their  limits, 
in  order  to  their  being  reclaimed  and  rendered  fit  for  culti 
vation,  the  grants  to  railroad  companies  of  alternate  sections 
of  land  upon  the  contemplated  lines  of  their  roads,  which, 
when  completed,  will  so  largely  multiply  the  facilities  for 
reaching  our  distant  possessions.  This  policy  has  received 
its  most  signal  and  beneficent  illustration  in  the  recent  enact 
ment  granting  homesteads  to  actual  settlers.  Since  the  first 
day  of  January  last  the  before  mentioned  quantity  of  one 
million,  four  hundred  and  fifty-six  thousand,  five  hundred 
and  fourteen  acres  of  land  have  been  taken  up  under  its 
provisions.  This  fact,  and  the  amount  of  sales,  furnish  grati 
fying  evidence  of  increasing  settlement  upon  the  public  lands, 
notwithstanding  the  great  struggle  in  which  the  energies  of 
the  nation  have  been  engaged,  and  which  has  required  so  large 


238  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

a  withdrawal  of  our  citizens  from  their  accustomed  pursuits. 
I  cordially  concur  in  the  recommendation  of  the  Secretary  of 
the  Interior,  suggesting  a  modification  of  the  act  in  favor  of 
those  engaged  in  the  military  and  naval  service  of  the  United 
States. 

I  doubt  not  that  Congress  will  cheerfully  adopt  such  measures 
as  will,  without  essentially  changing  the  general  features  of  the 
system,  secure  to  the  greatest  practical  extent  its  benefits  to 
those  who  have  left  their  homes  in  defence  of  the  country  in  this 
arduous  crisis. 

I  invite  your  attention  to  the  views  of  the  Secretary  as  to  the 
propriety  of  raising,  by  appropriate  legislation,  a  revenue  from 
the  mineral  lands  of  the  United  States.  The  measures  provided 
at  your  last  session  for  the  removal  of  certain  Indian  tribes  have 
been  carried  into  effect.  Sundry  treaties  have  been  negotiated, 
which  will,  in  due  time,  be  submitted  for  the  constitutional 
action  of  the  Senate.  They  contain  stipulations  for  extinguish 
ing  the  possessory  rights  of  the  Indians  to  large  and  valuable 
tracts  of  lands.  It  is  hoped  that  the  effect  of  these  treaties  will 
result  in  the  establishment  of  permanent  friendly  relations  with 
such  of  these  tribes  as  have  been  brought  into  frequent  and 
bloody  collision  with  our  outlying  settlements  and  emigrants. 
Sound  policy,  and  our  imperative  duty  to  these  wards  of  the 
Government,  demand  our  anxious  and  constant  attention  to 
their  material  well-being,  to  their  progress  in  the  arts  of  civili 
zation,  and  above  all,  to  that  moral  training  which,  under  the 
blessing  of  Divine  Providence,  will  confer  upon  them  the  elevated 
and  sanctifying  influences,  the  hopes  and  consolations  of  the 
Christian  faith.  I  suggested,  in  my  last  Annual  Message,  the 
propriety  of  remodeling  our  Indian  system.  Subsequent  events 
have  satisfied  me  of  its  necessity.  The  details  set  forth  in  the 
report  of  the  Secretary  evince  the  urgent?  need  for  immediate 
legislative  action. 

I  commend  the  benevolent  institutions,  established  or  patron 
ized  by  the  Government  in  this  District,  to  your  generous  and 
fostering  care. 

The  attention  of  Congress/during  the  last  session,  wras  engaged 
to  some  extent  with  a  proposition  for  enlarging  the  water 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.       239 

munication  between  the  Mississippi  River  and  the  northeastern 
seaboard,  which  proposition,  however,  failed  for  the  time.  Since 
then,  upon  a  call  of  the  greatest  respectability,  a  Convention  has 
been  held  at  Chicago  upon  the  same  subject,  a  summary  of 
whose  views  is  contained  in  a  memorial  address  to  the  President 
and  Congress,  and  which  I  now  have  the  honor  to  lay  before 
you.  That  the  interest  is  one  which  will  ere  long  force  its  own 
way  I  do  not  entertain  a  doubt,  while  it  is  submitted  entirely  to 
your  wisdom  as  to  what  can  be  done  now.  Augmented  interest 
is  given  to  this  subject  by  the  actual  commencement  of  work 
upon  the  Pacific  railroad,  under  auspices  so  favorable  to  rapid 
progress  and  completion.  The  enlarged  navigation  becomes  a 
palpable  need  to  the  great  road. 

I  transmit  the  second  annual  report  of  the  Commissioners  ot 
the  Department  of  Agriculture,  asking  your  attention  to  the 
developments  in  that  vital  interest  of  the  nation. 

When  Congress  assembled  a  year  ago,  the  war  had  already 
lasted  nearly  twenty  months,  and  there  had  been  many  conflicts 
on  both  land  and  sea,  with  varying  results ;  the  rebellion  had 
been  pressed  back  into  reduced  limits ;  yet  the  tone  of  public 
feeling  and  opinion,  at  home  and  abroad,  was  not  satisfactory. 
With  other  signs,  the  popular  elections,  then  just  past,  indicated 
uneasiness  among  ourselves,  while,  amid  much  that  was  cold 
and  menacing,  the  kindest  words  coming  from  Europe  were 
uttered  in  accents  of  pity  that  we  were  too  blind  to  surrender  a 
hopeless  cause.  Our  commerce  was  suffering  greatly  by  a  few 
vessels  built  upon  and  furnished  from  foreign  shores,  and  we 
were  threatened  with  such  additions  from  the  same  quarters  as 
would  sweep  our  trade  from  the  seas  and  raise  our  blockade. 
We  had  failed  to  elicit  from  European  governments  anything 
hopeful  upon  this  subject. 

The  preliminary  Emancipation  Proclamation  issued  in  Sep 
tember,  was  running  its  assigned  period  to  the  beginning  of  the 
new  year,  A  month  later,  the  final  proclamation  came,  includ 
ing  the  announcement  that  colored  men  of  suitable  condition 
would  be  received  in  the  war  service.  The  policy  of  emanci 
pation  and  of  employing  black  soldiers  gave  to  the  future  a  new 
aspect,  about  which  hope,  and  fear,  and  doubt,  contended  in  un- 


240  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

certain  conflict.  According  to  our  political  system,  as  a  matter 
of  civil  administration,  the  Government  had  no  lawful  power  to 
effect  emancipation  in  any  State,  and  for  a  long  time  it  had  been 
hoped  that  the  rebellion  could  be  suppressed  without  resorting 
to  it  as  a  military  measure.  It  was  all  the  while  deemed  possible 
that  the  necessity  for  it  might  come,  and  that  if  it  should,  the 
crisis  of  the  contest  would  then  be  presented.  It  came,  and,  as 
was  anticipated,  was  followed  by  dark  and  doubtful  days. 

Eleven  months  having  now  passed,  we  are  permitted  to  take 
another  view.  The  rebel  borders  are  pressed  still  further  back, 
and  by  the  complete  opening  of  the  Mississippi,  the  country 
dominated  by  the  rebellion  is  divided  into  distinct  parts  with 
no  practical  communication  between  them.  Tennessee  and 
Arkansas  have  been  substantially  cleared  of  insurgent  control, 
and  influential  citizens  in  each — owners  of  slaves  and  advocates 
of  slavery  at  the  beginning  of  the  rebellion — now  declare  openly 
for  emancipation  in  their  respective  States.  Of  those  States  not 
included  in  the  Emancipation  Proclamation,  Maryland  and 
Missouri,  neither  of  which,  three  years  ago,  would  tolerate  any 
restraint  upon  the  extension  of  slavery  into  new  Territories,  only 
dispute  now  as  to  the  best  mode  of  removing  it  within  their 
own  limits. 

Of  those  who  were  slaves  at  the  beginning  of  the  rebellion, 
full  one  hundred  thousand  are  now  in  the  United  States  military 
service,  about  one-half  of  which  number  actually  bear  arms  in 
the  ranks — thus  giving  the  double  advantage  of  taking  so  much 
labor  from  the  insurgent  cause  and  supplying  the  places  which 
otherwise  must  be  filled  with  so  many  white  men.  So  far  as 
tested,  it  is  difficult  to  say  they  are  not  as  good  soldiers  as  any. 
No  servile  insurrection  or  tendency  to  violence  or  cruelty  has 
marked  the  measures  of  emancipation  and  arming  the  blacks. 
These  measures  have  been  much  discussed  in  foreign  countries, 
and  cotemporary  with  such  discussion,  the  tone  of  public  senti 
ment  there  is  much  improved.  At  home  the  same  measures 
have  been  fully  discussed,  supported,  criticised  and  denounced, 
and  the  annual  elections  following  are  highly  encouraging  to 
those  whose  official  duty  it  is  to  bear  the  country  through 
this  great  trial.  -Thus  we  have  the  new  reckoning.  The 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  241 

crisis  which  threatened  to  divide  the  friends  of  the  Union  is 
past. 

Looking  now  to  the  present  and  future,  and  with  a  reference 
to  a  resumption  of  the  national  authority  in  the  States  wherein 
that  authority  has  been  suspended,  I  have  thought  fit  to  issue  a 
proclamation — a  copy  of  which  is  herewith  transmitted.  On 
examination  of  this  proclamation,  it  will  appear,  as  is  believed, 
that  nothing  is  attempted  beyond  what  is  amply  justified  by  the 
Constitution.  True,  the  form  of  an  oath  is  given,  but  no  man 
is  coerced  to  take  it.  The  man  is  only  promised  a  pardon  in 
case  he  voluntarily  takes  the  oath.  The  Constitution  authorizes 
•  the  Executive  to  grant  or  withdraw  the  pardon  at  his  own  abso 
lute  discretion,  and  this  includes  the  power  to  grant  on  terms, 
as  is  fully  established  by  judicial  and  other  authorities.  It  is 
also  proffered  that  if  in  any  of  the  States  named,  a  State  Govern 
ment  shall  be  in  the  mode  prescribed  set  up,  such  government 
shall  be  recognized  and  guaranteed  by  the  United  States,  and 
that  under  it  the  State  shall,  on  the  constitutional  conditions, 
be  protected  against  invasion  and  domestic  violence. 

The  constitutional  obligation  of  the  United  States  to  guaran 
tee  to  every  State  in  the  Union  a  Republican  form  of  Govern 
ment,  and  to  protect  the  State  in  the  cases  stated,  is  explicit  and 
full.  But  why  tender  the  benefits  of  this  provision  only  to  a  State 
Government  set  up  in  this  particular  way  ?  This  section  of  the 
Constitution  contemplates  a  case  wherein  the  element  within  a 
State  favorable  to  Republican  government  in  the  Union  may  be 
too  feeble  for  an  opposite  and  hostile  element  external  to  or 
even  within  the  State,  and  such  are  precisely  the  cases  with 
which  we  are  now  dealing. 

An  attempt  to  guarantee  and  protect  a  revived  State  Govern 
ment,  constructed  in  whole  or  in  preponderating  part  from  the 
very  element  against  whose  hostility  and  violence  it  is  to  be 
protected,  is  simply  absurd.  There  must  be  a  test  by  which  to 
separate  the  opposing  elements,  so  as  to  build  only  from  the 
sound ;  and  that  test  is  a  sufficiently  liberal  one  which  accepts 
as  sound  whoever  will  make  a  sworn  recantation  of  his  former 
unsoundness. 

But  if  it  be  proper  to  require,  as  a  test  of  admission  to  the 
11 


242  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

political  body,  an  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States  and  to  the  Union  under  it,  why  also  to  the  laws 
and  proclamations  in  regard  to  slavery  ? 

Those  laws  and  proclamations  were  enacted  and  put  forth  for 
the  purpose  of  aiding  in  the  suppression  of  the  rebellion.  To 
give  them  their  fullest  effect  there  had  to  be  a  pledge  for  their 
maintenance.  In  my  judgment  they  have  aided  and  will  further 
aid  the  cause  for  which  they  were  intended. 

To  now  abandon  them  would  be  not  only  to  relinquish  a  lever 
of  power,  but  would  also  be  a  cruel  and  an  astounding  breach 
of  faith. 

I  may  add,  at  this  point,  that  while  I  remain  in  my  present 
position,  I  shall  not  attempt  to  retract  or  modify  the  Emancipa 
tion  Proclamation,  nor  shall  I  return  to  slavery  any  person  who 
is  free  by  the  terms  of  that  proclamation,  or  by  any  of  the  acts 
of  Congress. 

For  these  and  other  reasons,  it  is  thought  best  that  support 
of  these  measures  shall  be  included  in  the  oath,  and  it  is  be 
lieved  that  the  Executive  may  lawfully  claim  it  in  return  for 
pardon  and  restoration  of  forfeited  rights,  which  he  has  a  clear 
constitutional  power  to  withhold  altogether  or  grant  upon  the 
terms  which  he  shall  deem  wisest  for  the  public  interest.  It 
should  be  observed,  also,  that  this  part  of  the  oath  is  subject  to 
the  modifying  and  abrogating  power  of  legislation  and  supreme 
judicial  decision. 

The  proposed  acquiescence  of  the  National  Executive  in  any 
reasonable  temporary  State  arrangement  for  the  freed  people,  is 
made  with  the  view  of  possibly  modifying  the  confusion  and 
destitution  which  must  at  best  attend  all  classes  by  a  total  rev 
olution  of  labor  throughout  whole  States.  It  is  hoped  that  the 
already  deeply  afflicted  people  in  those  States  may  be  somewhat 
more  ready  to  give  up  the  cause  of  their  affliction,  if,  to  this 
extent,  this  vital  matter  be  left  to  themselves,  while  no  power  of 
the  National  Executive  to  prevent  an  abuse  is  abridged  by  the 
proposition. 

The  suggestion  in  the  proclamation  as  to  maintaining  the 
political  frame-work  of  the  States  on  what  is  called  reconstruc 
tion,  is  made  in  the  hope  that  it  may  do  good,  without  danger 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  243 

of  harm.  It  will  save  labor,  and  avoid  great  confusion.  But 
why  any  proclamation  now  upon  this  subject  ?  This  question 
is  beset  with  the  conflicting  views  that  the  step  might  be  de 
layed  too  long,  or  be  taken  too  soon.  In  some  States  the 
elements  for  resumption  seem  ready  for  action  but  remain  inac 
tive,  apparently  for  want  of  a  rallying  point — a  plan  of  action. 
Why  shall  A  adopt  the  plan  of  B,  rather  than  B  that  of  A? 
And  if  A  and  B  should  agree,  how  can  they  know  but  that  the 
General  Government  here  will  reject  their  plan  ?  By  the  proc 
lamation  a  plan  is  presented  which  may  be  accepted  by  them  as 
a  rallying  point — and  which  they  are  assured  in  advance  will 
not  be  rejected  here.  This  may  bring  them  to  act  sooner  than 
they  otherwise  would. 

The  objection  to  a  premature  presentation  of  a  plan  by  the 
National  Executive  consists  in  the  danger  of  committals  on 
points  which  could  be  more  safely  left  to  further  developments. 
Care  has  been  taken  to  so  shape  the  document  as  to  avoid  em 
barrassments  from  this  source.  Saying  that  on  certain  terms 
certain  classes  will  be  pardoned  with  rights  restored,  it  is  not 
said  that  other  classes  or  other  terms  will  never  be  included. 
Saying  that  reconstruction  will  be  accepted  if  presented  in  a 
specified  way,  it  is  not  said  it  will  never  be  accepted  in  any 
other  way.  The  movements  by  State  action  for  emancipation 
in  several  of  the  States  not  included  hi  the  Emancipation  Proc 
lamation  are  matters  of  profound  gratulation.  And  while  I  do 
not  repeat  in  detail  what  I  have  heretofore  so  earnestly  urged 
upon  this  subject,  my  general  views  and  feelings  remain  un 
changed  ;  and  I  trust  that  Congress  will  omit  no  fair  oppor 
tunity  of  aiding  these  important  steps  to  the  great  consumma 
tion. 

In  the  midst  of  other  cares,  however  important,  we  must  not 
lose  sight  of  the  fact  that  the  war  power  is  still  our  main  reli 
ance.  To  that  power  alone  can  we  look  for  a  time,  to  give  con 
fidence  to  the  people  in  the  contested  regions,  that  the  insur 
gent  power  will  not  again  overrun  them.  Until  that  confidence 
shall  be  established,  little  can  be  done  anywhere  for  what  is 
called  reconstruction.  Hence  our  chiefest  care  must  still  be 
directed  to  the  army  and  navy,  who  have  thus  far  borne  their 


244  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

harder  part  so  nobly  and  well.  And  it  may  be  esteemed  for 
tunate  that  in  giving  the  greatest  efficiency  to  these  indispensa 
ble  arms,  we  do  also  honorably  recognize  the  gallant  men,  from 
commander  to  sentinel,  who  compose  them,  and  to  whom,  more 
than  to  others,  the  world  must  stand  indebted  for  the  home  of 
freedom,  disenthralled,  regenerated,  enlarged  and  perpetuated. 
(Signed)  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

December  8, 1S63. 

To  the  Message  was  appended  the  following 

PROCLAMATION. 

Whereas,  In  and  by  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  it 
is  provided  that  the  President  shall  have  power  to  grant  re 
prieves  and  pardons  for  offences  against  the  United  States,  ex 
cept  in  cases  of  impeachment — and,  whereas,  a  rebellion  now 
exists,  whereby  the  loyal  State  Governments  of  several  States 
have  for  a  long  time  been  subverted,  and  many  persons  have 
committed  and  are  now  guilty  of  treason  against  the  United 
States;  and 

Whereas,  With  reference  to  said  rebellion  and  treason,  laws 
have  been  enacted  by  Congress,  declaring  forfeitures  and  confis 
cation  of  property  and  liberation  of  slaves,  all  upon  terms  and 
conditions  therein  stated,  and  also  declaring  that  the  President 
was  thereby  authorized  at  any  time  thereafter,  by  proclamation, 
to  extend  to  persons  who  may  have  participated  in  the  existing 
rebellion  in  any  State  or  part  thereof,  pardon  and  amnesty,  with 
such  exceptions  and  at  such  times  and  on  such  conditions  as  he 
may  deem  expedient  for  the  public  welfare ;  and 

WJiereas,  The  Congressional  declaration  for  limited  and  con 
ditional  pardon  accords  with  the  well  established  judicial  expo 
sition  of  the  pardoning  power ;  and 

WJiereas,  With  reference  to  the  said  rebellion,  the  President 
of  the  United  States  has  issued  several  proclamations  with  pro 
visions  in  regard  to  the  liberation  of  slaves  ;  and 

WJiereas,  It  is  now  desired  by  some  persons  heretofore  en 
gaged  in  said  rebellion  to  resume  their  allegiance  to  the  United 
States,  and  to  reinaugurate  loyal  State  Governments  within  and 
for  their  respective  States  ;  therefore 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  245 

I,  Abraham  Lincoln,  President  of  the  United  States,  do 
proclaim,  declare,  and  make  known  to  all  persons  who  have 
directly  or  by  implication  participated  in  the  existing  rebellion, 
except  as  herein  after  excepted,  that  a  full  pardon  is  hereby 
granted  to  them  and  each  of  them,  with  restoration  of  all  rights 
of  property,  except  as  to  slaves,  and  in  property  cases  where 
rights  of  third  parties  shall  have  intervened,  and  upon  the  con 
dition  that  every  such  person  shall  take  and  subscribe  an  oath 
and  thenceforward  keep  and  maintain  said  oath  inviolate,  an 
oath  which  shall  be  registered  for  permanent  preservation,  and 
shall  be  of  the  tenor  and  effect  following,  to  wit : 

"  I, ,  do  solemnly  swear,  in  the  presence  of 

Almighty  God,  that  I  will  henceforth  faithfully  support,  pro 
tect,  and  defend  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  and  the 
Union  of  the  States  thereunder ;  and  that  I  will  in  like  manner 
abide  by  and  faithfully  support  all  acts  of  Congress  passed 
during  the  existing  rebellion  with  reference  to  slaves,  so  long 
and  so  far  as  not  repealed,  modified,  or  held  void  by  Congress 
or  by  decisions  of  the  Supreme  Court ;  and  that  I  will  in  like 
manner  abide  by  and  faithfully  support  all  proclamations  of  the 
President  made  during  the  existing  rebellion  having  reference  to 
slaves,  so  long  and  so  far  as  not  modified  or  declared  void  by 
decision  of  the  Supreme  Court.  So  help  me  God." 

The  persons  excepted  from  the  benefits  of  the  foregoing  pro 
visions  are  :  All  who  are,  or  shall  have  been  civil  or  diplomatic 
officers  or  agents  of  the  so-called  Confederate  Government ;  all 
who  have  left  judicial  stations  under  the  United  States  to  aid 
the  rebellion  ;  all  who  are  or  shall  have  been  military  or  naval 
officers  of  said  so-called  Confederate  Government,  above  the 
rank  of  Colonel  in  the  army,  or  of  Lieutenant  in  the  navy ;  all 
who  left  seats  in  the  United  States  Congress  to  aid  the  rebel 
lion  ;  all  who  resigned  commissions  in  the  army  or  navy  of  the 
United  States,  and  afterward  aided  the  rebellion ;  and  all  who 
have  engaged  in  any  way  in  treating  colored  persons,  or  white 
persons  in  charge  of  such,  otherwise  than  lawfully  as  prisoners 
of  war,  and  which  persons  may  have  been  found  in  the  United 
States  service  as  soldiers,  seamen,  or  any  other  capacity  ;  and  I 
do  further  proclaim,  declare,  and  make  known  that,  whenever, 


246  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

in  any  of  the  States  of  Arkansas,  Texas,  Louisiana,  Mississippi, 
Tennessee,  Alabama,  Georgia,  Florida,  South  Carolina,  and 
North  Carolina,  a  number  of  persons  not  less  than  one-tenth  in 
number  of  the  votes  cast  in  such  States  at  the  Presidential 
election  of  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred 
and  sixty,  each  having  taken  the  oath  aforesaid,  and  not  having 
since  violated  it,  and  being  a  qualified  voter  by  the  election  law 
of  the  State  existing  immediately  before  the  so-called  act  of 
Secession,  and  excluding  all  others,  shall  re-establish  a  State 
Government  which  shall  be  Republican,  and  in  no  wise  contra 
vening  said  oath,  such  shall  be  recognized  as  the  true  govern 
ment  of  the  State,  and  the  State  shall  receive  thereunder  the 
benefits  of  the  constitutional  provision,  which  declares  that 

"The  United  States  shall  guarantee  to  every  State  in  this 
Union  a  Republican  form  of  government,  and  shall  protect  each 
of  them  against  invasion,  and  on  application  of  the  Legislature, 
or  the  Executive,  when  the  Legislature  cannot  be  convened, 
against  domestic  violence." 

And  I  do  further  proclaim,  declare,  and  make  known,  that 
any  provision  which  may  be  adopted  by  such  State  Government 
in  relation  to  the  freed  people  of  such  State,  which  shall 
recognize  and  declare  their  permanent  freedom,  provide  for 
their  education,  and  which  may  yet  be  consistent,  as  a  tempo 
rary  arrangement,  with  their  present  condition  as  a  laboring, 
landless,  and  homeless  class,  will  not  be  objected  to  by  the 
National  Executive. 

And  it  is  suggested  as  not  improper,  that,  in  constructing  a 
loyal  State  Government  in  any  State,  the  name  of  the  State,  the 
boundary,  the  subdivisions,  the  Constitution,  and  the  general 
code  of  laws,  as  before  the  rebellion,  be  maintained,  subject 
only  to  the  modifications  made  necessary  by  the  conditions 
herein  before  stated,  and  such  others,  if  any,  not  contravening 
said  conditions,  and  which  may  be  deemed  expedient  by  those 
framing  the  new  State  Government.  To  avoid  misunderstand 
ing,  it  may  be  proper  to  say  that  this  proclamation,  so  far  as  it 
relates  to  State  Government,  has  no  reference  to  States  wherein 
loyal  State  Governments  have  all  the  while  been  maintained ; 
and  for  the  same  reason  it  may  be  proper  to  further  say,  that 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  247 

whether  members  sent  to  Congress  from  any  State  shall  be  admit 
ted  to  seats,  constitutionally  rests  exclusively  with  the  respective 
Houses,  and  not  to  any  extent  with  the  Executive.  And  still 
further,  that  this  proclamation  is  intended  to  present  the  people 
of  the  States  wherein  the  national  authority  has  been  suspended, 
and  loyal  State  Governments  have  been  subverted,  a  mode  in 
and  by  which  the  national  authority  and  loyal  State  Gov 
ernments  may  be  re-established  within  said  States,  or  in  any 
of  them.  And,  while  the  mode  presented  is  the  best  the 
Executive  can  suggest  with  his  present  impressions,  it  must 
not  be  understood  that  no  other  possible  mode  would  be 
acceptable. 

Given  under  my  hand  at  the  city  of  Washington,  the  eighth  day 
of  December,  A.D.  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty- 
three,  and  of  the  independence  of  the  United  States  of  Amer 
ica  the  eighty-eighth. 

By  the  President :  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

WM.  H.  SKWARD,  Secretary  of  State. 

RESTRAINTS   UPON   THE    CLERGY. 

Clergymen  and  the  representatives  of  clergymen,  many 
on  one  side,  and  some  on  the  other,  complained  of  the 
restraints  which,  owing  to  the  condition  of  the  country, 
were  placed  upon  them,  sometimes  by  the  Government, 
sometimes  by  the  local  authorities,  and  often  by  the  very 
people  to  whom  they  sought  to  minister.  The  following 
letter,  in  reply  to  an  appeal  for  the  exercise  of  the  Pres 
ident's  authority  to  restore  the  Rev.  Dr.  McPheeters,  of 
St.  Louis,  to  the  pulpit,  from  which  he  had  been  excluded 
by  General  Curtis  for  teaching  disloyalty,  shows  that  Mr. 
Lincoln  insisted  only  that  clergymen,  like  all  other  citi 
zens,  should  not  use  their  influence  for  the  support  of  the 
rebellion  and  the  consequent  destruction  of  the  Gov 
ernment. 


248  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

EXECUTIVE  MANSION,  WASHINGTON,  Dec.  28, 1863. 

I  have  just  looked  over  a  petition  signed  by  some  three  dozen 
citizens  of  St.  Louis,  and  their  accompanying  letters,  one  by 
yourself,  one  by  a  Mr.  Nathan  Ranney,  and  one  by  a  Mr.  John 
D.  Coalter,  the  whole  relating  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  McPheeters.  The 
petition  prays,  in  the  name  of  justice  and  mercy,  that  I  will 
restore  Dr.  McPheeters  to  all  his  ecclesiastical  rights. 

This  gives  no  intimation  as  to  what  ecclesiastical  rights  are 
withdrawn.  Your  letter  states  that  Provost-Marshal  Dick, 
about  a  ago,  ordered  the  arrest  of  Dr.  McPheeters,  Pastor  of 
the  Vine  Street  Church,  prohibited  him  from  officiating,  and 
placed  the  management  of  affairs  of  the  church  out  of  the 
control  of  the  chosen  trustees;  and  near  the  close  you  state 
that  a  certain  course  "  would  insure  his  release."  Mr.  Ranney's 
letter  says :  "  Dr.  Samuel  McPheeters  is  enjoying  all  the  rights 
of  a  civilian,  but  cannot  preach  the  gospel  1 "  Mr.  Coalter,  in 
his  letter,  asks :  "  Is  it  not  a  strange  illustration  of  the  condi 
tion  of  things,  that  the  question  who  shall  be  allowed  to  preach 
in  a  church  in  St.  Louis  shall  be  decided  by  the  President  of 
the  United  States  ? " 

Now,  all  this  sounds  very  strangely ;  and,  withal,  a  little  as 
if  you  gentlemen,  making  the  application,  do  not  understand 
the  case  alike ;  one  affirming  that  his  doctor  is  enjoying  all  the 
rights  of  a  civilian,  and  another  pointing  out  to  me  what  will 
secure  his  release!  On  the  3d  of  January  last,  I  wrote  to  Gene 
ral  Curtis  in  relation  to  Mr.  Dick's  order  upon  Dr.  McPheeters ; 
and,  as  I  suppose  the  doctor  is  enjoying  all  the  rights  of  a 
civilian,  I  only  quote  that  part  of  my  letter  which  relates  to 
the  church.  It  was  as  follows:  "But  I  must  add  that  the 
United  States  Government  must  not,  as  by  this  order,  under 
take  to  run  the  churches.  When  an  individual,  in  a  church  or 
out  of  it,  becomes  dangerous  to  the  public  interest,  he  must  be 
checked;  but  the  churches,  as  such,  must  take  care  of  them 
selves.  It  will  not  do  for  the  United  States  to  appoint  trustees, 
supervisors,  or  other  agents  for  the  churches." 

This  letter  going  to  General  Curtis,  then  in  command,  I  sup 
posed,  of  course,  it  was  obeyed,  especially  as  I  heard  no  further 
complaint  from  Doctor  McPheeters  or  his  friends  for  nearly  an 


249 


entire  year.  I  have  never  interferred,  nor  thought  of  interfer 
ing,  as  to  who  shall  or  shall  not  preach  in  any  church;  nor 
have  I  knowingly  or  believingly  tolerated  any  one  else  to  inter 
fere  by  my  authority.  If  any  one  is  so  interfering  by  color  of 
my  authority,  I  would  like  to  have  it  specifically  made  known 
to  me. 

If,  after  all,  what  is  now  sought,  is  to  have  me  put  Doctor 
McPheeters  back  over  the  heads  of  a  majority  of  his  own  con 
gregation,  that  too,  will  be  declined.  I  will  not  have  control 
of  any  church  or  any  side.  A.  LINCOLN. 

EFFECT   OF   SO-CALLED    SECESSION. 

In  the  following  letter  addressed  by  Mr.  Lincoln  to 
the  editors  of  the  North  American  Review  he  gives  his 
views  upon  the  effect  of  secession  ordinances  upon  State 
governments  and  individual  citizens. 

EXECUTIVE  MANSION*,  WASHINGTON,  Jan.  16,  1S64. 

Messrs.  Crosby  &  Nichols: — Gentlemen — The  number  for  this 
month  and  year  of  the  North  American  Review  was  duly  received, 
and  for  which  please  accept  my  thanks.  Of  course  I  am  not 
the  most  impartial  judge ;  yet,  with  due  allowance  for  this,  I 
venture  to  hope  that  the  article  entitled  '  The  President's  Policy,' 
will  be  of  value  to  the  country.  I  fear  I  am  not  worthy  of  all 
which  is  therein  kindly  said  of  me  personally. 

"  The  sentence  of  twelve  lines,  commencing  at  the  top  of 
page  252,  I  could  wish  to  be  not  exactly  what  it  is.  In  what 
is  there  expressed  the  writer  has  not  correctly  understood  me. 
I  have  never  had  a  theory  that  secession  could  absolve  States  or 
people  from  their  obligations.  Precisely  the  contrary  is  asserted 
in  the  inaugural  address ;  and  it  was  because  of  my  belief  in 
the  continuation  of  those  obligations  that  I  was  puzzled  for  a 
time,  as  to  denying  the  legal  rights  of  those  citizens  who  re 
mained  individually  innocent  of  treason  or  rebellion.  But  I 
mean  no  more  now  than  to  merely  call  attention  to  this  point. 
Yours  respectfully,  A.  LINCOLN." 

11* 


250  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

REORGANIZATION  IN  ARKANSAS. 
In  spite  of  the  position  of  Arkansas,  lying  as  it  does 
west  of  the  Mississippi  and  between  Texas  and  Missouri, 
there  was  from  the  beginning  not  only  a  strong  Union 
party  in  that  State,  but  it  was  bolder  and  more  outspoken 
and  active  than  was  the  ease  under  similar  circumstances 
in  the  eastern  Slave  States.  In  the  winter  of  1863-4 
efforts  were  made  by  the  loyal  men  of  the  State  to 
reorganize  its  government  and  bring  it  again  under  the 
national  authority.  These  efforts  elicited  the  following 
letters  from  Mr.  Lincoln  : 

EXECUTIVE  MANSION,  WASHINGTON,  Jan,  20, 1864. 

Major- General  Steele — Sundry  citizens  of  the  State  of  Arkan 
sas  petition  me  that  an  election  may  be  held  in  that  State,  at 
which  to  elect  a  governor ;  that  it  be  assumed  at  that  election 
and  thenceforward,  that  the  Constitution  and  laws  of  the  State, 
as  before  the  rebellion,  are  in  full  force,  except  that  the  Consti 
tution  is  so  modified  as  to  declare  that  there  shall  be  neither 
slavery  nor  involuntary  servitude,  except  in  the  punishment  of 
crimes  whereof  the  party  shall  have  been  duly  convicted ;  that 
the  General  Assembly  may  make  such  provisions  for  the  freed 
people  as  shall  recognize  and  declare  their  permanent  freedom, 
and  provide  for  their  education,  and  which  may  yet  be  con 
strued  as  a  temporary  arrangement  suitable  to  their  condition 
as  a  laboring,  landless,  and  homeless  class;  that  said  election 
shall  be  held  on  the  28th  of  March,  1864,  at  all  the  usual  places 
of  the  State,  or  all  such  as  voters  may  attend  for  that  purpose; 
that  the  voters  attending  at  8  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  said 
day  may  choose  judges  and  clerks  of  election  for  such  purpose; 
that  all  persons  qualified  by  said  Constitution  and  laws,  and 
taking  the  oath  presented  in  the  President's  proclamation  ot 
December  8,  1863,  either  before  or  at  the  election,  and  none 
others,  may  be  voters;  that  each  set  of  judges  and  clerks  may 

make  returns  directly  to  you  on  or  before  the  — th  day  of 

next ;  that  in  all  other  respects  said  election  may  be  conducted 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  251 

according  to  said  Constitution  and  laws;  that  on  receipt  of 
said  returns,  when.  5,406  votes  shall  have  been  cast,  you  can 
receive  said  votes  and  ascertain  all  who  shall  thereby  appear  to 

have  been  elected ;   that  on  the  — th  day  of next,  all 

persons  so  appearing  to  have  been  elected,  who  shall  appear 
before  you  at  Little  Rock,  and  take  the  oath,  to  be  by  you 
severally  administered,  to  support  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States,  and  said  modified  Constitution  of  the  State  of 
Arkansas,  may  be  declared  by  you  qualified  and  empowered  to 
immediately  enter  upon  the  duties  of  the  offices  to  which  they 
shall  have  been  respectively  elected. 

You  will  please  order  an  election  to  take  place  on  the  28th 
of  March,  1864,  and  returns  to  be  made  in  fifteen  days  there 
after.  A.  LINCOLN. 

To  William  Fishback. — When  I  fixed  a  plan  for  an  election  in 
Arkansas,  I  did  it  in  ignorance  that  your  convention  was  at  the 
same  work.  Since  I  learned  the  latter  fact,  I  have  been  con 
stantly  trying  to  yield  my  plan  to  theirs.  I  have  sent  two  let 
ters  to  General  Steele,  and  three  or  four  dispatches  to  you  and 
others,  saying  that  he  (General  Steele)  must  be  master,  but  that 
it  will  probably  be  best  for  him  to  keep  the  convention  on  its 
own  plan.  Some  single  mind  must  be  master,  else  there  will  be 
no  agreement  on  anything;  and  General  Steele,  commanding 
the  military  and  being  on  the  ground,  is  the  best  man  to  be  that 
master.  Even  now  citizens  are  telegraphing  me  to  postpone 
the  election  to  a  later  day  than  either  fixed  by  the  convention 
or  me.  This  discord  must  be  silenced.  A.  LINCOLN. 

THE   SANITARY   AND    CHRISTIAN    COMMISSIONS. 

The  following  letters  may  well  be  grouped  together 
here  without  regard  to  that  chronological  order  which  has 
been  preserved  elsewhere  throughout  this  volume.  They 
express  the  feelings  with  which  Mr.  Lincoln  regarded  the 
efforts  made  by  those  who  were  cooperating  with  the  San 
itary  and  Christian  Commissions. 


252  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

AT  THE  FAIR  IN  WASHINGTON  IN  AID  OF  THE  SANITARY 
COMMISSION,  MARCH  16,  1864. 

Ladies  and  Gentlemen : — I  appear  to  say  but  a  word.  This 
extraordinary  war  in  which  we  are  engaged  falls  heavily  upon 
all  classes  of  people,  but  the  most  heavily  upon  the  soldier. 
For  it  has  been  said,  all  that  a  man  hath  will  he  give  for  his 
life;  and  while  all  contribute  of  their  substance,  the  soldier 
puts  his  life  at  stake,  and  often  yields  it  up  in  his '  country's 
cause.  The  highest  merit,  then,  is  due  to  the  soldier. 

In  this  extraordinary  war,  extraordinary  developments  have 
manifested  themselves,  such  as  have  not  been  seen  in  former 
wars ;  and  among  these  manifestations  nothing  has  been  more 
remarkable  than  these  fairs  for  the  relief  of  suffering  soldiers 
and  their  families.  And  the  chief  agents  in  these  fairs  are  the 
women  of  America. 

I  am  not  accustomed  to  the  use  of  language  of  eulogy  ;  I  have 
never  studied  the  art  of  paying  compliments  to  women ;  but  I 
must  say,  that  if  all  that  has  been  said  by  orators  and  poets 
since  the  creation  of  the  world  in  praise  of  women  were  applied 
to  the  women  of  America,  it  would  not  do  them  justice  for  their 
conduct  during  this  war.  I  will  close  by  saying,  God  bless  the 
women  of  America ! 

AT   THE   FAIR  IN   BALTIMORE,  IN  AID  OF   THE   SANITARY 
COMMISSION,    APRIL   18,    1864. 

Ladies  and  Gentlemen : — Calling  to  mind  that  we  are  in  Bal 
timore,  we  cannot  fail  to  note  that  the  world  moves.  Looking 
upon  these  many  people  assembled  here  to  serve,  as  they  best 
may,  the  soldiers  of  the  Union,  it  occurs  at  once  that  three  years 
ago  the  same  soldiers  could  not  so  much  as  pass  through  Balti 
more.  The  change  from  then  till  now  is  both  great  and  grati 
fying.  Blessings  on  the  brave  men  who  have  wrought  the 
change,  and  the  fair  women  who  strive  to  reward  them  for  it. 

But  Baltimore  suggests  more  than  could  happen  within  Bal 
timore.  The  change  within  Baltimore  is  part  only  of  a  far  wider 
change.  When  the  war  began,  three  years  ago,  neither  party, 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  253 

nor  any  man,  expected  it  would  last  till  now.  Each  looked  for 
the  end,  in  some  way,  long  ere  to-day.  Neither  did  any  antici 
pate  that  domestic  slavery  would  be  much  affected  by  the  war. 
But  here  we  are ;  the  war  has  not  ended,  and  slavery  has  been 
much  affected — how  much  needs  not  now  to  be  recounted.  So 
true  it  is  that  man  proposes  and  God  disposes. 

But  we  can  see  the  past,  though  we  may  not  claim  to  have 
directed  it ;  and  seeing  it,  in  this  case,  we  feel  more  hopeful  and 
confident  for  the  future. 

The  world  has  never  had  a  good  definition  of  the  word  lib 
erty,  and  the  American  people,  just  now,  are  much  in  want  of 
one.  We  all  declare  for  liberty ;  but  in  using  the  same  word 
we  do  not  all  mean  the  same  thing.  With  some  the  word  liberty 
may  mean  for  each  man  to  do  as  he  pleases  with  himself,  and 
the  product  of  his  labor ;  while  with  others  the  same  word  may 
mean  for  some  men  to  do  as  they  please  with  other  men,  and  the 
product  of  other  men's  labor.  Here  are  two,  not  only  different, 
but  incompatible  things,  called  by  the  same  name,  liberty. 
And  it  follows  that  each  of  the  things  is,  by  the  respective  par 
ties,  called  by  two  different  and  incompatible  names — liberty 
and  tyranny. 

The  shepherd  drives  the  wolf  from  the  sheep's  throat,  for 
which  the  sheep  thanks  the  shepherd  as  a  liberator,  while  the 
wolf  denounces  him  for  the  same  act,  as  the  destroyer  of  liberty, 
especially  as  the  sheep  was  a  black  one.  Plainly,  the  sheep  and 
the  wolf  are  not  agreed  upon  a  definition  of  the  word  liberty  j 
and  precisely  the  same  difference  prevails  to-day  among  us  hu 
man  creatures,  even  in  the  North,  and  all  professing  to  love  lib 
erty.  Hence  we  behold  the  process  by  which  thousands  are  daily 
passing  from  under  the  yoke  of  bondage  hailed  by  some  as  the 
advance  of  liberty,  and  bewailed  by  others  as  the  destruction  of 
all  liberty.  Recently,  as  it  seems,  the  people  of  Maryland  have 
been  doing  something  to  define  liberty ;  and  thanks  to  them 
that,  in  what  they  have  done,  the  wolf's  dictionary  has  been 
repudiated. 

It  is  not  very  becoming  for  one  in  my  position  to  make 
speeches  at  great  length;  but  there  is  another  subject  upon 
which  I  feel  that  I  ought  to  say  a  word.  A  painful  rumor, 


254       THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

true,  I  fear,  has  reached  us  of  the  massacre,  by  the  rebel  forces 
at  Fort  Pillow,  in  the  west  end  of  Tennessee,  on  the  Mississipp; 
River,  of  some  three  hundred  colored  soldiers  and  white  officers, 
who  had  just  been  overpowered  by  their  assailants.  There 
seems  to  be  some  anxiety  in  the  public  mind  whether  the  Gov 
ernment  is  doing  its  duty  to  the  colored  soldier,  and  to  the  ser 
vice  at  this  point.  Ar  the  beginning  of  the  war,  and  for  some 
time,  the  use  of  colored  troops  was  not  contemplated ;  and  how 
the  change  of  purpose  was  wrought  I  will  not  now  take  time  to 
explain.  Upon  a  clear  conviction  of  duty,  I  resolved  to  turn 
that  element  of  strength  to  account ;  and  I  am  responsible  for  it 
to  the  American  people,  to  the  Christian  world,  to  history,  and 
on  my  final  account  to  God.  Having  determined  to  use  the 
negro  as  a  soldier,  there  is  no  way  but  to  give  him  all  the  pro 
tection  given  to  any  other  soldier.  The  difficulty  is  not  in  stat 
ing  the  principle,  but  in  practically  applying  it.  It  is  a  mistake 
to  suppose  the  Government  is  indifferent  to  this  matter,  or  is 
not  doing  the  best  it  can  in  regard  to  it.  We  do  not  to-day 
know  that  a  colored  soldier,  or  white  officer  commanding  colored 
soldiers  has  been  massacred  by  the  rebels  when  made  a  prisoner. 
We  fear  it,  believe  it,  I  may  say,  but  we  do  not  know  it.  To 
take  the  life  of  one  of  their  prisoners  on  the  assumption  that 
they  murder  ours,  when  it  is  short  of  certainty  that  they  do 
murder  ours,  might  be  too  serious,  too  cruel  a  mistake.  We 
are  having  the  Fort  Pillow  affair  thoroughly  investigated ;  and 
such  investigation  will  probably  show  conclusively  how  the 
truth  is.  If,  after  all  that  has  been  said,  it  shall  turn  out  that 
there  has  been  no  massacre  at  Fort  Pillow,  it  will  be  almost  safe 
to  say  there  has  been  none,  and  will  be  none  elsewhere.  If  there 
has  been  the  massacre  of  three  hundred  there,  or  even  the  tenth 
part  of  three  hundred,  it  will  be  conclusively  proven ;  and  being 
so  proven,  the  retribution  shall  as  surely  come.  It  will  be  a 
matter  of  grave  consideration  in  wrhat  exact  course  to  apply  the 
retribution ;  but  in  the  supposed  case  it  must  come. 

THE  WORKINGMEN'S  ASSOCIATION  OF  NEW  YORK. 

This  Association  elected  Mr.  Lincoln  one  of  its  hon 
orary  members,  and  on  the  21st  of  March,  1864,  a  com- 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  255 

mittee  of  the  Association  presented  to  him  an  address 
setting  forth  the  objects  of  the  association,  and  requesting 
him  to  accept  the  membership.  He  replied  as  follows  : 

Gentlemen  of  the  Committee — The  honorary  membership  in 
your  association,  as  generously  tendered,  is  gratefully  accepted. 

You  comprehend,  as  your  address  shows,  that  the  existing 
rebellion  means  more  and  tends  to  do  more  than  the  perpetua- 
ation  of  African  slavery — that  it  is,  in  fact,  a  war  upon  the 
rights  of  all  working  people.  Partly  to  show  that  this  view  had 
not  escaped  my  attention,  and  partly  that  I  cannot  better  express 
myself,  I  read  a  passage  from  the  message  to  Congress  in  De 
cember,  1861 : 

"  It  continues  to  develop  that  the  insurrection  is  largely,  if 
not  exclusively,  a  war  upon  the  first  principle  of  popular  gov 
ernment,  the  rights  of  the  people.  Conclusive  evidence  of  this 
is  found  in  the  most  grave  and  maturely  considered  public  doc 
uments,  as  well  as  in  the  general  tone  of  the  insurgents.  In 
those  documents  we  find  the  abridgment  of  the  existing  right 
of  suffrage,  and  the  denial  to  the  people  of  all  right  to  partici 
pate  in  the  selection  of  public  officers,  except  the  legislative, 
boldly  advocated,  with  labored  argument  to  prove  that  large 
control  of  the  people  in  government  is  the  source  of  all  political 
evil.  Monarchy  itself  is  sometimes  hinted  at  as  a  possible  refuge 
from  the  power  of  the  people. 

"  In  my  present  position  I  could  scarcely  be  justified  were  I 
to  omit  raising  a  warning  voice  against  this  approach  of  return 
ing  despotism. 

"  It  is  not  needed,  nor  fitting  here,  that  a  general  argument 
should  be  made  in  favor  of  popular  institutions  ;  but  there  is 
one  point  with  its  connections,  not  so  hackneyed  as  most  others, 
to  which  I  ask  a  brief  attention.  It  is  the  effort  to  place  capital 
on  an  equal  footing,  if  not  above  labor,  in  the  structure  of  gov 
ernment.  It  is  assumed  that  labor  is  available  only  in  connec 
tion  with  capital ;  that  nobody  labors  unless  somebody  else, 
owning  capital,  somehow  by  the  use  of  it  induces  him  to  labor. 
This  assumed,  it  is  next  considered  whether  it  is  best  that  cap 
ital  shall  hire  laborers,  and  thus  induce  them  to  work  by  their 


256  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

own  consent,  or  buy  them,  and  drive  them  to  it  without  their 
consent.  Having  proceeded  so  far,  it  is  naturally  concluded 
that  all  laborers  are  either  hired  laborers,  or  what  we  call  slaves. 
And,  further,  it  is  assumed  that  whoever  is  once  a  hired  laborer, 
is  fixed  in  that  condition  for  life.  Now  there  is  no  such  rela 
tion  between  capital  and  labor  as  assumed,  nor  is  there  any  such 
thing  as  a  free  man  being  fixed  for  life  in  the  condition  of  a  hired 
laborer.  Both  these  assumptions  are  false,  and  all  inferences 
from  them  are  groundless. 

"  Labor  is  prior  to,  and  independent  of,  capital.  Capital  is 
only  the  fruit  of  labor,  and  could  never  have  existed  if  labor 
had  not  first  existed.  Labor  is  the  superior  of  capital,  and  de 
serves  much  the  higher  consideration.  Capital  has  its  rights, 
which  are  as  worthy  of  protection  as  any  other  rights.  Nor  is 
it  denied  that  there  is,  and  probably  always  will  be,  a  relation 
between  capital  and  labor ;  producing  mutual  benefits.  The 
error  is  in  assuming  that  the  whole  labor  of  a  community  exists 
within  that  relation.  A  few  men  own  capital,  and  that  few 
avoid  labor  themselves,  and,  with  their  capital,  hire  or  buy 
another  few  to  labor  for  them.  A  large  majority  belong  to  nei 
ther  class — neither  work  for  others,  nor  have  others  working  for 
them.  In  most  of  the  Southern  States  a  majority  of  the  whole 
people  of  all  colors  are  neither  slaves  nor  masters ;  while  in  the 
Northern,  a  large  majority  are  neither  hirers  nor  hired.  Men 
with  their  families — wives,  sons,  and  daughters — work  for  them 
selves,  on  their  farms,  in  their  houses,  and  in  their  shops,  taking 
the  whole  product  to  themselves,  and  asking  no  favors  of  cap 
ital  on  the  one  hand  nor  of  hired  laborers  or  slaves  on  the  other. 
It  is  not  forgotten  that  a  considerable  number  of  persons  mingle 
their  own  labor  with  capital ;  that  is,  they  labor  with  their  own 
hands,  and  also  buy  or  hire  others  to  labor  for  them,  but  this  is 
only  a  mixed  and  not  a  distinct  class.  No  principle  stated  is 
disturbed  by  the  existence  of  this  mixed  class. 

"  Again,  as  has  already  been  said,  there  is  not,  of  necessity, 
any  such  thing  as  the  free  hired  laborer  being  fixed  to  that  con 
dition  for  life.  Many  independent  men  everywhere  in  these 
States,  a  few  years  back  in  their  lives  were  hired  laborers.  The 
prudent  penniless  beginner  in  the  world  labors  for  wages  awhile, 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  257 

saves  a  surplus  with  which  to  buy  tools  or  land  for  himself, 
then  labors  on  his  own  account  another  while,  and  at  length 
hires  another  new  beginner  to  help  him.  This  is  the  just  and 
generous  and  prosperous  system  which  opens  the  way  to  all — 
gives  hope  to  all,  and  consequent  energy  and  progress,  and  im 
provement  of  condition  to  all.  No  men  living  are  morewrorthy 
to  be  trusted  than  those  who  toil  up  from  poverty — none  less 
inclined  to  touch  or  take  aught  which  they  have  not  honestly 
earned.  Let  them  beware  of  surrendering  a  political  power 
they  already  possess,  and  which,  if  surrendered,  will  surely  be 
used  to  close  the  door  of  advancement  against  such  as  they,  and 
to  fix  new  disabilities  and  burdens  upon  them,  till  all  of  liberty 
shall  be  lost." 

The  views  then  expressed  remain  unchanged,  nor  have  I  much 
to  add.  None  are  so  deeply  interested  to  resist  the  present  re 
bellion  as  the  working  people.  Let  them  beware  of  prejudices, 
working  division  and  hostility  among  themselves.  The  most 
notable  feature  of  a  disturbance  in  your  city  last  summer  was 
the  hanging  of  some  working  people  by  other  working  people. 
It  should  never  be  so.  The  strongest  bond  of  human  sympathy, 
outside  of  the  family  relation,  should  be  one  uniting  all  working 
people,  of  all  nations  and  tongues,  and  kindreds.  Nor  should 
this  lead  to  a  war  upon  property  or  the  owners  of  property. 
Property  is  the  fruit  of  labor ;  property  is  desirable ;  is  a  posi 
tive  good  in  the  world.  That  some  should  be  rich  shows  that 
others  may  become  rich,  and,  hence,  is  just  encouragement  to 
industry  and  enterprise.  Let  not  him  who  is  houseless  pull 
dowrn  the  house  of  another,  but  let  him  labor  diligently  and 
build  one  for  himself,  thus  by  example  assuring  that  his  own 
shall  be  safe  from  violence  when  built. 

DEFINING   THE   AMNESTY   PROCLAMATION. 

The  Proclamation  of  Amnesty,  issued  in  December, 
1863,  was  scouted  by  the  defenders  and  apologists  of  the 
rebellion  as  adapted  only  to  irritate  the  insurgents  and 
stimulate  them  to  prolong  resistance.  But  early  in  1864 


258  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

the  waning  of  confidence  in  the  so-called  Confederacy 
began  to  be  manifested  on  the  part  of  prisoners  taken  by 
the  national  forces.  Many  of  these  claimed  the  benefits 
of  the  amnesty,  and  wished  to  return  to  their  allegiance 
as  a  mode  of  relieving  themselves  of  the  consequences 
of  capture.  These  unreasonable  expectations  called  out 
the  following 

PROCLAMATION. 

Whereas,  it  has  become  necessary  to  define  the  cases  in  which 
insurgent  enemies  are  entitled  to  the  benefits  of  the  Proclama 
tion  of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  which  was  made  on 
the  8th  day  of  December,  1863,  and  the  manner  in  which  they 
shall  proceed  to  avail  themselves  of  these  benefits  ;  and  whereas 
the  objects  of  that  proclamation  were  to  suppress  the  insurrec 
tion  and  to  restore  the  authority  of  the  United  States ;  and 
whereas  the  amnesty  therein  proposed  by  the  President  was 
offered  with  reference  to  these  objects  alone ; 

Now,  therefore,  I,  Abraham  Lincoln,  President  of  the 
United  States,  do  hereby  proclaim  and  declare  that  the  said 
proclamation  does  not  apply  to  the  cases  of  persons  who,  at  the 
time  when  they  seek  to  obtain  the  benefits  thereof  by  taking 
the  oath  thereby  prescribed,  are  in  military,  naval  or  civil  con 
finement  o^  custody,  or  under  bonds,  or  on  parole  of  the  civil, 
military  01  naval  authorities  or  agents  of  the  United  States,  as 
prisoners  01  war,  or  persons  detained  for  offences  of  any  kind, 
either  befoic  or  after  conviction ;  and  that  on  the  contrary  it 
does  apply  only  to  those  persons  who,  being  yet  at  large,  and 
free  from  any  arrest,  confinement,  or  duress,  shall  voluntarily 
come  forward  and  take  the  said  oath,  with  the  purpose  of  re 
storing  peace  and  establishing  the  national  authority. 

Persons  excluded  from  the  amnesty  offered  in  the  said  pro 
clamation  may  apply  to  the  President  for  clemency,  like  all  other 
offenders,  and  their  application  will  receive  due  consideration. 

I  do  further  declare  and  proclaim  that  the  oath  presented  in 
the  aforesaid  proclamation  of  the  8th  of  December,  1863,  may 
be  taken  and  subscribed  before  any  commissioned  officer,  civil, 


259 


military  or  naval,  in  the  service  of  the  United  States,  or  any 
civil  or  military  officer  of  a  State  or  Territory  not  in  insurrec 
tion,  who,  by  the  laws  thereof,  may  be  qualified  for  administer 
ing  oaths. 

All  officers  who  receive  such  oaths  are  hereby  authorized  to 
give  certificates  thereof  to  the  persons  respectively  by  whom 
they  are  made,  and  such  officers  are  hereby  required  to  transmit 
the  original  records  of  such  oaths  at  as  early  a  day  as  may  be 
convenient,  to  the  Department  of  State,  where  they  will  be  de 
posited,  and  remain  in  the  archives  of  the  Government. 

The  Secretary  of  State  will  keep  a  registry  thereof,  and  will, 
on  application,  in  proper  cases,  issue  certificates  of  such  records 
in  the  customary  form  of  official  certificates. 

In  testimony  whereof,  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand,  and  caused 
the  seal  of  the  United  States  to  be  affixed.     Done  at 
the  City  of  Washington,  this  26th  day  of  March,  in  the 
[L.  s.]    year  of  our   Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
sixty-three,  and  of  the  independence  of  the  United 
States  of  America  the  eighty-eighth. 
By  the  President :  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

WILLIAM  H.  SEWARD,  Secretary  of  State. 


POLICY   WITH   REGARD    TO   SLAVERY. 

Mr.  Lincoln,  in  various  speeches  and  documents  which 
are  to  be  found  in  their  places  in  this  volume,  set  forth 
his  views  as  to  his  duty,  and  his  consequent  policy,  in 
regard  to  slavery.  None  of  these,  however,  seem  to  be 
so  complete  an  expression,  both  of  his  feeling  and  his 
purposes  upon  this  subject,  as  that  contained  in  the  fol 
lowing  letter.  It  was  addressed  to  Mr.  A.  G.  Hodges, 
who,  in  company  with  Governor  Bramlette  of  Kentucky, 
and  some  other  gentlemen  from  that  State,  had  waited 
upon  the  President  in  regard  to  a  modification  of  the 
draft.  In  the  course  of  their  interview,  a  conversation 


260  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

had  taken  place  upon  Mr.  Lincoln's  policy  in  regard  to 
slavery,  which  he  thought  was  misapprehended  in  Ken 
tucky,  and  which  he  explained  in  the  terms  re-collected 
in  this  letter : 

EXECUTIVE  MANSION,  WASHINGTON,  April  4,  1864. 

A.  G.  Hodges,  Esq.,  Frankfort,  Ky. — My  Dear  Sir — You  ask 
me  to  put  in  writing  the  substance  of  what  I  verbally  said  the 
other  day,  in  your  presence,  to  Governor  Bramlette  and  Senator 
Dixon.  It  was  about  as  follows : 

"  1  am  naturally  anti-slavery.  If  slavery  is  not  wrong,  nothing 
is  wrong.  I  cannot  remember  when  I  did  not  so  think  and  feel, 
and  yet  I  have  never  understood  that  the  Presidency  conferred 
upon  me  an  unrestricted  right  to  act  officially  upon  this  judg 
ment  and  feeling.  It  was  in  the  oath  I  took,  that  I  would,  to 
the  best  of  my  ability,  preserve,  protect,  and  defend  the  Consti 
tution  of  the  United  States.  I  could  not  take  the  office  without 
taking  the  oath.  Nor  was  it  my  view  that  I  might  take  an  oath  to 
get  power,  and  break  the  oath  in  using  the  power.  I  understood, 
too,  that  in  ordinary  civil  administration  this  oath  even  forbade 
me  to  practically  indulge  my  primary  abstract  judgment  on  the 
moral  question  of  slavery.  I  had  publicly  declared  this  many 
times,  and  in  many  ways.  And  I  aver  that,  to  this  day,  I  have 
done  no  official  act  in  mere  deference  to  my  abstract  judgment 
and  feeling  on  slavery.  I  did  understand,  however,  that  my 
oath  to  preserve  the  Constitution  to  the  best  of  my  ability,  im 
posed  upon  me  the  duty  of  preserving,  by  every  indispensable 
means,  that  government — that  nation,  of  which  that  Constitu 
tion  was  the  organic  law.  Was  it  possible  to  lose  the  nation 
and  yet  preserve  the  Constitution  ?  By  general  law,  life  ana 
limb  must  be  protected ;  yet  often  a  limb  must  be  amputated 
to  save  a  life ;  but  a  life  is  never  wisely  given  to  save  a  limb. 
I  felt  that  measures,  otherwise  unconstitutional,  might  become 
lawful  by  becoming  indispensable  to  the  preservation  of  the 
Constitution,  through  the  preservation  of  the  nation.  Right  or 
wrong,  I  assumed  this  ground,  and  now  avow  it.  I  could  not 
feel  that,  to  the  best  of  my  ability,  I  had  even  tried  to  preserve 
the  Constitution,  if,  to  save  slavery,  or  any  minor  matter,  I 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  261 

should  permit  the  wreck  of  government,  country,  and  Constitu 
tion,  altogether.  When,  early  in  the  war,  General  Fremont 
attempted  military  emancipation,  I  forbade  it,  because  I  did  not 
then  think  it  an  indispensable  necessity.  When,  a  little  later, 
General  Cameron,  then  Secretary  of  War,  suggested  the  arming 
of  the  blacks,  I  objected,  because  I  did  not  yet  think  it  an  indis 
pensable  necessity.  When,  still  later,  General  Hunter  attempted 
military  emancipation,  I  again  forbade  it,  because  I  did  not  yet 
think  the  indispensable  necessity  had  come.  When,  in  March, 
and  May,  and  July,  1862>  I  made  earnest  and  successive  appeals 
to  the  border  States  to  favor  compensated  emancipation,  I 
believed  the  indispensable  necessity  for  military  emancipation 
and  arming  the  blacks  would  come,  unless  averted  by  that 
measure.  They  declined  the  proposition,  and  I  was,  in  my  best 
judgment,  diiven  to  the  alternative  of  either  surrendering  the 
Union,  and  with  it,  the  Constitution,  or  of  laying  strong  hand 
upon  the  colored  element.  I  chose  the  latter.  In  choosing  it, 
I  hoped  for  greater  gain  than  loss,  but  of  this  I  was  not  entirely 
confident.  More  than  a  year  of  trial  now  shows  no  loss  by  it  in 
our  foreign  relations,  none  in  our  home  popular  sentiment,  none 
in  our  white  military  force,  no  loss  by  it  anyhow,  or  anywhere. 
On  the  contrary,  it  shows  a  gain  of  quite  a  hundred  and  thirty 
thousand  soldiers,  seamen,  and  laborers.  These  are  palpable 
facts,  about  which,  as  facts,  there  can  be  no  caviling.  We 
have  the  men ;  and  we  could  not  have  had  them  without  the 
measure. 

"  And  now  let  any  Union  man  who  complains  of  the  measure, 
test  himself  by  writing  down  in  one  line,  that  he  is  for  subduing 
the  rebellion  by  force  of  arms ;  and  in  the  next,  that  he  is  for 
taking  a  hundred  and  thirty  thousand  men  from  the  Union  side, 
and  placing  them  where  they  would  be  best  for  the  measure  he 
condemns.  If  he  cannot  face  his  case  so  stated,  it  is  only 
because  he  cannot  face  the  truth." 

I  add  a  word  which  was  not  in  the  verbal  conversation.  In 
telling  this  tale,  I  attempt  no  compliment  to  my  own  sagacity. 
I  claim  not  to  have  controlled  events,  but  confess  plainly  that 
events  have  controlled  me.  Now  at  the  end  of  three  years' 
struggle,  the  nation's  condition  is  not  what  either  party  or  any 


262  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

man  devised,  or  expected.  God  alone  can  claim  it.  Whither 
it  is  tending  seems  plain.  If  God  now  wills  the  removal  of  a 
great  wrong,  and  wills  also  that  we  of  the  North,  as  well  as  you 
of  the  South,  shall  pay  fairly  for  our  complicity  in  that  wrong, 
impartial  history  will  find  therein  new  causes  to  attest  and 
revere  the  justice  and  goodness  of  God. 

Yours,  truly,  A.  LINCOLN. 

GENERAL   GRANT. 

Mr.  Lincoln  expressed  his  high  appreciation  of  General 
Grant,  and  his  estimation  of  the  difficulties  he  had  before 
him,  in  the  following  letter  addressed  to  the  managers  of 
a  meeting  in  New  York,  held  directly  after  that  eminent 
soldier's  opening  of  the  long  campaign  which  ended  in 
the  capture  of  Richmond  and  the  crushing  of  the  rebel 
lion  ,: 

EXECUTIVE  MANSION,  WASHINGTON,  June  8, 1864. 

Hon.  F.  A.  Conlding,  and  others —  Gentlemen — Your  letter  in 
viting  me  to  be  present  at  a  mass  meeting  of  the  loyal  citizens, 
to  be  held  at  New  York  on  the  4th  inst.,  for  the  purpose  of  ex 
pressing  gratitude  to  Lieutenant-General  Grant  for  his  signal 
services,  was  received  yesterday.  It  is  impossible  for  me  to 
attend.  I  approve,  nevertheless,  whatever  may  tend  to  strengthen 
and  sustain  General  Grant  and  the  noble  armies  now  under  his 
direction.  My  previous  high  estimate  of  General  Grant  has 
been  maintained  and  heightened  by  what  has  occurred  in  the 
remarkable  campaign  he  is  now  conducting ;  while  the  magni 
tude  and  difficulty  of  the  task  before  him  does  not  prove  less 
than  I  expected.  He  and  his  brave  soldiers  are  now  in  the 
midst  of  their  great  trial,  and  I  trust  that,  at  your  meeting,  you 
will  so  shape  your  good  words  that  they  may  turn  to  men  and 
guns  moving  to  his  and  their  support. 

Yours  truly,  A.  LINCOLN. 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

CONGRESSIONAL  SESSION  OF  1864-5. 

Congress  met  in  regular  session  on  the  7th  of  Decem 
ber,  1864,  and  received  from  the  President  the  following 
Message,  in  which  the  passages  chiefly  worthy  of  note  are 
those  referring  to  the  Constitutional  Amendment  abolish 
ing  slavery,  to  the  futility  of  any  attempt  to  negotiate 
with  "  the  insurgent  leaders,"  and  to  the  development  of 
the  resources  and  the  increase  in  the  power  of  the  country 
in  the  midst  of  the  vast  and  long  continued  civil  war. 

Fellow-  Citizens  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives — 
Again  the  blessings  of  health  and  abundant  harvests  claim  our 
profoundest  gratitude  to  Almighty  God. 

The  condition  of  our  foreign  affairs  is  reasonably  satisfactory. 

Mexico  continues  to  be  a  theatre  of  civil  war.  While  our 
political  relations  with  that  country  have  undergone  no  change, 
we  have  at  the  same  time  strictly  maintained  neutrality  between 
the  belligerents. 

At  the  request  of  the  States  of  Costa  Rica  and  Nicaragua,  a 
competent  engineer  has  been  authorized  to  make  a  survey  of  the 
River  San  Juan  and  the  port  of  San  Juan.  It  is  a  source  of 
much  satisfaction  that  the  difficulties,  which  for  a  moment 
excited  some  political  apprehension  and  caused  a  closing  of  the 
inter-oceanic  transit  route,  have  been  amicably  adjusted,  and 
that  there  is  a  good  prospect  that  the  route  will  soon  be  re 
opened,  with  an  increase  of  capacity  and  adaptation.  We 
could  not  exaggerate  either  the  commercial  or  the  political 
importance  of  that  great  improvement.  It  would  be  doing 
injustice  to  an  important  South  American  State,  not  to  acknowl 
edge  the  directness,  frankness,  and  cordiality  with  which  the 
States  of  Colombia  have  entered  into  intimate  relations  with 
this  Government.  A  claims-convention  has  been  constituted  to 
complete  the  unfinished  work  of  the  one  which  closed  its  ses 
sion  in  1861. 

The  new  liberal  Constitution  of  Venezuela  having  gone  into 
effect  with  the  universal  acquiescence  of  the  people,  the  govern- 


264  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

ment  under  it  has  been  recognized,  and  diplomatic  intercourse 
with  it  lias  been  opened  in  a  cordial  and  friendly  spirit. 

The  long  deferred  Aves  Island  claim  has  been  satisfactorily 
paid  and  discharged.  Mutual  payments  have  been  made  of 
the  claims  awarded  by  the  late  Joint  Commission  for  the  settle 
ment  of  claims  between  the  United  States  and  Peru.  An  ear 
nest  and  cordial  friendship  continues  to  exist  between  the  two 
countries ;  and  such  efforts  as  were  in  my  power  have  been  used 
to  remove  misunderstanding  and  avert  a  threatened  war 
between  Peru  and  Spain.  Our  relations  are  of  the  most  friendly 
nature  with  Chili,  the  Argentine  Republic,  Bolivia,  Costa  Rica, 
Paraguay,  San  Salvador  and  Hayti.  During  the  past  year  no 
differences  of  any  kind  have  arisen  with  any  of  these  Repub 
lics.  And,  on  the  other  hand,  their  sympathies  with  the  United 
States  are  constantly  expressed  with  cordiality  and  earnestness. 

The  claim  arising  from  the  seizure  of  the  cargo  of  the  brig 
Macedonian,  in  1821,  has  been  paid  in  full  by  the  Government 
of  Chili. 

Civil  war  continues  in  the  Spanish  part  of  San  Domingo, 
apparently  without  prospect  of  an  early  close. 

Official  correspondence  has  been  freely  opened  with  Liberia, 
and  it  gives  us  a  pleasing  view  of  social  and  political  progress 
in  that  Republic.  It  may  be  expected  to  derive  new  vigor  from 
American  influence,  improved  by  the  rapid  disappearance  of 
slavery  in  the  United  States. 

I  solicit  your  authority  to  furnish  to  the  Republic  a  gunboat 
at  a  moderate  cost,  to  be  reimbursed  to  the  United  States  by 
installments.  Such  a  vessel  is  needed  for  the  safety  of  that 
State  against  the  native  African  races,  and  in  Liberian  hands  it 
would  be  more  effective  in  arresting  the  African  slave-trade, 
than  a  squadron  in  our  own  hands.  The  possession  of  the  least 
organized  naval  force  would  stimulate  a  generous  ambition  in 
the  Republic,  and  the  confidence  which  we  should  manifest  by 
furnishing  it  would  win  forbearance  and  favor  toward  the  colony 
from  all  civilized  nations. 

The  proposed  overland  telegraph  between  America  and 
Europe  by  the  way  of  Behring's  Straits  and  Asiatic  Russia, 
which  was  sanctioned  by  Congress  at  the  last  session,  has  been 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  265 

undertaken  under  very  favorable  circumstances  by  an  associa 
tion  of  American  citizens,  with  the  cordial  good-will  and  sup 
port  as  well  of  this  Government  as  of  those  of  Great  Britain  and 
Russia.  Assurances  have  been  received  from  most  of  the  South 
American  States  of  their  high  appreciation  of  the  enterprise 
and  their  readiness  to  co-operate  in  constructing  lines  tributary 
to  that  world-encircling  communication. 

I  learn  with  much  satisfaction  that  the  noble  design  of  a  tele 
graphic  communication  between  the  Eastern  Coast  of  America 
and  Great  Britain  has  been  renewed,  with  full  expectation  of 
its  early  accomplishment.  Thus  it  is  hoped  that  with  the 
return  of  domestic  peace,  the  country  will  be  able  to  resume 
with  energy  and  advantage  her  former  high  career  of  commerce 
and  civilization. 

Our  very  popular  and  estimable  representative  in  Egypt  died 
in  April  last.  An  unpleasant  altercation  which  arose  between 
the  temporary  incumbent  of  the  office  and  the  Government  of 
the  Pacha,  resulted  in  a  suspension  of  intercourse.  The  evil 
was  promptly  corrected  on  the  arrival  of  the  successor  in  the 
consulate  and  our  relations  with  Egypt,  as  well  as  our  relations 
with  the  Barbary  Powers,  are  entirely  satisfactory. 

The  rebellion,  which  has  so  long  been  flagrant  in  China,  has 
at  last  been  suppressed,  with  the  co-operating  good  offices  of 
this  Government,  and  of  the  other  Western  commercial  States. 
The  judicial  consular  establishment  has  become  very  difficult 
and  onerous,  and  it  will  need  legislative  organization  to  adapt 
it  to  the  extension  of  our  commerce,  and  to  the  more  intimate 
intercourse  which  has  been  instituted  with  the  government  and 
people  of  that  vast  empire.  China  seems  to  be  accepting,  with 
hearty  good  will,  the  conventional  laws  which  regulate  com 
merce  and  social  intercourse  among  Western  nations. 

Owing  to  the  peculiar  situation  of  Japan  and  the  anomalous 
form  of  its  government,  the  action  of  that  empire  in  performing 
treaty  stipulations  is  inconstant  and  capricious.  Nevertheless, 
good  progress  has  been  effected  by  the  Western  Powers,  moving 
with  enlightened  concert.  Our  own  pecuniary  claims  have 
been  allowed,  or  put  in  course  of  settlement,  and  the  inland 
sea  has  been  reopened  to  commerce.  There  is  reason  also  to 


266  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

believe  that  these  proceedings  have  increased  rather  than  dimin 
ished  the  friendship  of  Japan  toward  the  United  States. 

The  ports  of  Norfolk,  Fernandina  and  Pensacola  have  been 
opened  by  proclamation.  It  is  hoped  that  foreign  merchants 
will  now  consider  whether  it  is  not  safer  and  more  profit 
able  to  themselves,  as  well  as  just  to  the  United  States,  to  resort 
to  them  and  other  open  ports,  than  it  is  to  pursue,  through 
many  hazards  and  at  vast  cost,  a  contraband  trade  with  other 
ports  which  are  closed,  if  not  by  actual  military  operation,  at 
least  by  a  lawful  and  effective  blockade. 

For  myself,  I  have  no  doubt  of  the  power  and  duty  of  the 
Executive,  under  the  law  of  nations,  to  exclude  enemies  of  the 
human  race  from  an  asylum  in  the  United  States.  If  Congress 
should  think  that  proceedings  in  such  cases  lack  the  authority 
of  law,  or  ought  to  be  further  regulated  by  it,  I  recommend 
that  provision  be  made  for  effectually  preventing  foreign  slave- 
traders  from  acquiring  domicile  and  facilities  for  their  criminal 
occupation  in  our  country. 

It  is  possible  that  if  it  were  a  new  and  open  question,  the 
Maritime  Powers,  with  the  light  they  now  enjoy,  would  not 
concede  the  privileges  of  a  naval  belligerent  to  the  insurgents 
of  the  United  States,  destitute  as  they  are  and  always  have 
been,  equally  of  ships  and  of  ports  and  harbors.  Disloyal 
emissaries  have  been  neither  less  assiduous  nor  more  successful 
during  the  last  year  than  they  were  before  that  time  in  their 
efforts,  under  favor  of  that  privilege,  to  embroil  our  country  in 
foreign  wars.  The  desire  and  determination  of  the  Maritime 
States  to  defeat  that  design  are  believed  to  be  as  sincere  as,  and 
cannot  be  more  earnest  than  our  own.  Nevertheless  unforeseen 
political  difficulties  have  arisen,  especially  in  Brazilian  and 
British  ports  and  on  the  Northern  boundary  of  the  United 
States,  which  have  required  and  are  likely  to  continue  to 
require  the  practice  of  constant  vigilance  and  a  just  and  con 
ciliatory  spirit  on  the  part  of  the  United  States,  as  well  as  of 
the  nations  concerned  and  their  governments.  Commissioners 
have  been  appointed  under  the  treaty  with  Great  Britain  on. 
the  adjustment  of  the  claims  of  the  Hudson  Bay  and  Puget's 
Sound  Agricultural  Companies  in  Oregon,  and  are  now  pro- 
peeding  to  the  execution  of  the  trust  assigned  to  them. 


267 


In  view  of  the  insecurity  of  life  in  the  region  adjacent  to  the 
Canadian  border,  by  recent  assaults  and  depredations  committed 
by  inimical  and  desperate  persons,  who  are  harbored  there,  it 
has  been  thought  proper  to  give  notice  that  after  the  expiration 
of  six  months,  the  period  conditionally  stipulated  in  the  exist 
ing  arrangements  with  Great  Britain,  the  United  States  must 
hold  themselves  at  liberty  to  increase  their  naval  armament 
upon  the  Lakes,  if  they  shall  find  that  proceeding  necessary. 
The  condition  of  the  border  will  necessarily  come  into  consider 
ation  in  connection  with  the  question  of  continuing  or  modify 
ing  the  rights  of  transit  from  Canada  through  the  United  States, 
as  well  as  the  regulation  of  imports,  which  were  temporarily 
established  by  the  Reciprocity  Treaty  of  the  5th  June,  1854. 
I  desire,  however,  to  be  understood  while  making  this  state 
ment,  that  the  colonial  authorities  are  not  deemed  to  be  inten 
tionally  unjust  or  unfriendly  toward  the  United  States,  but  on 
the  contrary,  there  is  every  reason  to  expect  that  with  the 
approval  of  the  Imperial  Government  they  will  take  the  neces 
sary  measure  to  prevent  new  incursions  across  the  border. 

The  act  passed  at  the  last  session  for  the  encouragement  of 
emigration  has,  as  far  as  was  possible,  been  put  into  operation. 
It  seems  to  need  amendment,  which  will  enable  the  officers  of 
the  Government  to  prevent  the  practice  of  frauds  against  the 
immigrants  wThile  on  their  way,  and  on  their  arrival  in  the  ports, 
so  as  to  secure  them  here  a  free  choice  of  avocations  and  places 
of  settlement.  A  liberal  disposition  toward  this  great  national 
policy  is  manifested  by  most  of  the  European  States,  and 
ought  to  be  reciprocated  on  our  part,  by  giving  the  immigrants 
effective  national  protection.  I  regard  our  emigrants  as  one  of 
the  principal  replenishing  streams  which  are  appointed  by 
Providence  to  repair  the  ravages  of  internal  war  and  its  wastes 
of  national  strength  and  health.  All  that  is  necessary  is  to 
secure  the  flow  of  that  stream  in  its  present  fulness,  and  to  that 
end  the  Government  must  in  every  way  make  it  manifest  that 
it  neither  needs  nor  designs  to  impose  involuntary  military 
service  upon  those  who  come  from  other  lands  to  cast  their  lot 
in  our  country. 

The  financial  affairs  of  the  Government  have  been  successfully 


268  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

administered  during  the  last  year.  The  legislation  of  the  last 
session  of  Congress  has  beneficially  affected  the  revenue.  Al 
though  sufficient  time  has  not  yet  elapsed  to  experience  the 
full  effect  of  several  of  the  provisions  of  the  acts  of  Congress 
imposing  increased  taxation,  the  receipts  during  the  year,  from 
all  sources,  upon  the  basis  of  warrants  signed  by  the  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury,  including  loans,  and  the  balance  in  the  Trea 
sury  on  the  1st  day  of  July,  1863,  were  $1,394,796,007  62,  and 
the  aggregate  disbursements  upon  the  same  basis,  were  $1,298,- 
056,101  89,  leaving  a  balance  in  the  Treasury,  as  shown  by  war 
rants,  of  $96,739,905  73.  Deduct  from  these  amounts  the 
amount  of  the  principal  of  the  public  dqbt  redeemed  and  the 
amount  of  issues  in  substitution  therefor,  and  the  actual  cash 
operations  of  the  Treasury  were :  Receipts,  $884,076,646  77 ; 
disbursements,  $865,234,087  86,  which  leaves  a  cash  balance  in 
the  Treasury  of  $18,842,558  71.  Of  the  receipts,  there  were 
derived  from  customs,  $102,316,152  99 :  from  lands,  $388,333  29 ; 
from  direct  taxes,  $475,648  96 ;  from  internal  revenue,  $109,- 
741,134  JO;  from  miscellaneous  sources,  $47,511,448  10;  and 
from  loans  applied  to  actual  expenditures,  including  former 
balance,  $623,443.929  13.  There  were  disbursed  for  the  civil 
service,  $27,505,599  46  ;  for  pensions  and  Indians,  $7,517,930  97 ; 
for  the  War  Department,  $60,791,842  97;  for  the  Navy  Depart 
ment,  $85,733,292  79 ;  for  interest  of  the  public  debt,  $53,685,- 
421  69,  making  an  aggregate  of  $865,234,087  86,  and  leaving  a 
balance  in  the  Treasury  of  $18,842,558  71,  as  before  stated. 

For  the  actual  receipts  and  disbursements  for  the  first  quar 
ter,  and  the  estimated  receipts  and  disbursements  for  the  three 
remaining  quarters  of  the  current  fiscal  year,  and  the  general 
operations  of  the  Treasury  in  detail,  I  refer  you  to  the  report 
of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury.  I  concur  with  him  in  the 
opinion  that  the  proportion  of  the  moneys  required  to  meet  the 
expenses  consequent  upon  the  war,  derived  from  taxation, 
should  be  still  further  increased ;  and  I  earnestly  invite  your 
attention  to  this  subject  to  the  end  that  there  may  be  such 
additional  legislation  as  shall  be  required  to  meet  the  just 
expectations  of  the  Secretary.  The  public  debt  on  the  1st  day 
of  July  last,  as  appears  by  the  books  of  the  Treasury,  amounteji 


THB  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  269 

to  one  billion,  seven  hundred  and  forty  thousand  million,  six 
hundred  and  ninety  thousand,  four  hundred  and  eighty-nine 
dollars  and  forty-nine  cents.  Probably  should  the  war  continue 
for  another  year,  that  amount  may  be  increased  by  not  far  from 
five  hundred  millions.  Held,  as  it  is  for  the  most  part  by  our 
own  people,  it  has  become  a  substantial  branch  of  national 
though  private  property.  For  obvious  reasons  the  more  nearly 
this  property  can  be  distributed  among  all  the  people  the  bet 
ter.  To  favor  such  general  distribution,  greater  inducements  to 
become  owners  might  perhaps,  with  good  effect  and  without 
injury,  be  presented  to  persons  of  limited  means.  With  this 
view,  I  suggest  whether  it  might  not  be  both  expedient  and 
competent  for  Congress  to  provide  that  a  limited  amount  of 
some  future  issue  of  public  securities  might  be  held  by  any 
bona  fide  purchaser  exempt  from  taxation  and  from  seizure  for 
debt  under  such  restrictions  and  limitations  as  might  be  neces 
sary  to  guard  against  abuse  of  so  important  a  privilege.  This 
would  enable  prudent  persons  to  set  aside  a  small  annuity 
against  a  possible  day  of  want.  Privileges  like  these  would 
render  the  possession  of  such  securities  to  the  amount  limited 
most  desirable  to  any  person  of  small  means,  who  might  be  able 
to  save  enough  for  the  purpose.  The  great  advantage  of  citi 
zens  being  creditors,  as  well  as  debtors,  with  relation  to  the 
public  debt,  is  obvious.  Men  readily  perceive  that  they  cannot 
be  much  oppressed  by  a  debt  which  they  owe  themselves.  The 
public  debt  on  the  1st  day  of  July  last,  although  somewhat  ex 
ceeding  the  estimate  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  made  to 
Congress  at  the  commencement  of  the  last  session,  falls  short 
of  the  estimate  of  that  officer  made  in  the  preceding  December, 
as  to  its  probable  amount  at  the  beginning  of  this  year,  by  the 
sum  of  $3,995,079  33.  This  fact  exhibits  a  satisfactory  condi 
tion  and  conduct  of  the  operations  of  the  Treasury. 

The  National  Banking  system  is  proving  to  be  acceptable  to 
capitalists  and  to  the  people.  On  the  25th  day  of  November, 
584  National  Banks  had  been  organized,  a  considerable  number 
of  which  were  conversions  from  State  banks.  Changes  from 
the  State  system  to  the  National  system  are  rapidly  taking 
place,  and  it  is  hoped  that  very  soon  there  will  be  in  the  United 


270  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

States,  no  banks  of  issue  not  authorized  by  Congress,  and  no 
bank-note  circulation  not  secured  by  the  Government ;  that  the 
Government  and  the  people  will  derive  general  benefit  from  this 
change  in  the  banking  systems  of  the  country  can  hardly  be 
questioned.  The  National  system  will  create  a  reliable  and  per 
manent  influence  in  support  of  the  national  credit  and  protect 
the  people  against  losses  in  the  use  of  paper  money.  Whether 
or  not  any  further  legislation  is  advisable  for  the  suppression  of 
State  bank  issues,  it  will  be  for  Congress  to  determine.  It  seems 
quite  clear  that  the  Treasury  cannot  be  satisfactorily  conducted 
unless  the  Government  can  exercise  a  restraining  power  over  the 
bank-note  circulation  of  the  countiy. 

The  report  of  the  Secretary  of  War  and  the  accompanying 
documents  will  detail  the  campaigns  of  the  armies  in  the  field, 
since  the  date  of  the  last  Annual  Message,  and  also  the  opera 
tions  of  the  several  administrative  bureaux  of  the  W^ar  Depart 
ment  during  the  last  year.  It  will  also  specify  the  measures 
deemed  essential  for  the  national  defence,  and  to  keep  up  and 
supply  the  requisite  military  force.  The  report  of  the  Secretary 
of  the  Navy  presents  a  comprehensive  and  satisfactory  exhibit 
of  the  affairs  of  that  department  and  of  the  naval  service.  It  is 
a  subject  of  congratulation  and  laudable  pride  to  our  country 
men  that  a  navy  of  such  proportions  has  been  organized  in  so 
brief  a  period,  and  conducted  with  so  much  efficiency  and  suc 
cess. 

The  general  exhibit  of  the  navy,  including  vessels  under  con 
struction  on  the  1st  of  December,  1864,  shows  a  total  of  671 
vessels,  carrying  4,610  guns,  and  510,396  tons,  being  an  actual 
increase  during  the  year,  over  and  above  all  losses  by  shipwreck 
or  in  battle,  of  83  vessels,  167  guns,  and  42,427  tons.  The  to 
tal  number  of  men  at  this  time  in  the  naval  service,  including 
officers,  is  about  51,000.  There  have  been  captured  by  the 
navy,  during  the  year,  324  vessels,  and  the  whole  number  of 
naval  captures  since  hostilities  commenced  is  1,379,  of  which 
267  are  steamers.  The  gross  receipts  arising  from  the  sale  of 
condemned  prize  property  thus  far  reported  amounts  to  $14,- 
396,250  51.  A  large  amount  of  such  proceeds  is  still  under  ad 
judication,  and  yet  to  be  reported.  The  total  expenditure  of 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  271 

the  Navy  Department,  of  every  description,  including  the  cost 
of  the  immense  squadrons  that  have  been  called  into  existence 
from  the  4th  of  March,  1861,  to  the  1st  of  November,  1864,  are 
$238,647,262  35.  Your  favorable  consideration  is  invited  to  the 
various  recommendations  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  es 
pecially  in  regard  to  a  navy-yard  and  suitable  establishment  for 
the  construction  and  repair  of  iron  vessels,  and  the  machinery 
and  armature  of  our  ships,  to  which  reference  was  made  in  my 
last  Annual  Message. 

Your  attention  is  also  invited  to  the  views  expressed  in  the 
report  in  relation  to  the  legislation  of  Congress  at  its  last  session, 
in  respect  to  prizes  on  our  inland  waters.  I  cordially  concur  in 
the  recommendation  of  the  Secretary  as  to  the  propriety  of  cre 
ating  the  new  rank  of  Vice- Admiral  in  our  naval  service. 

Your  attention  is  invited  to  the  report  of  the  Postmaster-Gen 
eral  for  a  detailed  account  of  the  operations  and  financial  con 
dition  of  the  Post-office  Department.  The  postal  revenue  for 
the  year  ending  June  30, 1854,  amounted  to  $12,468,253  78,  and 
the  expenditures  to  $12,644,786  20 ;  the  excess  of  expenditures 
over  receipts  being  $206,652  42. 

The  views  presented  by  the  Postmaster-General  on  the  subject 
of  special  grants  by  the  Government  in  aid  of  the  establish 
ment  of  new  lines  of  ocean  mail  steamships,  and  the  policy  he 
recommends  for  the  development  of  increased  commercial  inter 
course  with  adjacent  and  neighboring  countries,  should  receive 
the  careful  consideration  of  Congress. 

It  is  of  noteworthy  interest  that  the  steady  expansion  of  pop 
ulation,  improvement  and  governmental  institutions  over  the 
new  and  unoccupied  portions  of  our  country,  have  scarcely  been 
checked,  much  less  impeded  or  destroyed,  by  our  great  civil 
war,  which,  at  first  glance,  would  seem  to  have  absorbed  almost 
the  entire  energies  of  the  nation. 

The  organization  and  admission  of  the  State  of  Nevada  has 
been  completed,  in  conformity  with  law,  and  thus  our  excel 
lent  system  is  firmly  established  in  the  mountains  which  once 
seemed  a  barren  and  uninhabitable  waste,  between  the  Atlantic 
States  and  those  which  have  grown  up  on  the  coast  of  the  Pa 
cific  Ocean. 


272  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

The  territories  of  the  Union  are  generally  in  a  condition  of 
prosperity  and  rapid  growth.  Idaho  and  Montana,  by  reason 
of  their  great  distance,  and  the  interruption  of  communication 
with  them  by  Indian  hostilities,  have  been  only  partially  organ 
ized  ;  but  it  is  understood  that  these  difficulties  are  about  to  dis 
appear,  which  will  permit  their  governments,  like  those  of  the 
others,  to  go  into  speedy  and  full  operation.  As  intimately 
connected  with  and  promotive  of  this  material  growth  of  the 
nation,  I  ask  the  attention  of  Congress  to  the  valuable  informa 
tion  and  important  recommendations  relating  to  the  public 
lands,  Indian  affairs,  the  Pacific  railroads,  and  mineral  discov 
eries  contained  in  the  report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior, 
which  is  herewith  transmitted,  and  which  report  also  embraces 
the  subjects  of  patents,  pensions,  and  other  topics  of  public  in 
terest  pertaining  to  his  Department.  The  quantity  of  public 
land  disposed  of  during  the  five  quarters  ending  on  the  thirtieth 
of  September  last,  was  4,221,842  acres,  of  which  1,538,614  acrea 
were  entered  under  the  homestead  law.  The  remainder  was 
located  with  military  land  warrants,  agricultural  scrip,  certified 
to  States  for  railroads,  and  sold  for  cash.  The  cash  received 
from  sales  and  location  fees  was  $1,019,446.  The  income  from 
sales  during  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1864,  was  $678,007 
21,  against  $136,077  95  received  during  the  preceding  year. 
The  aggregate  number  of  .acres  surveyed  during  the  year  has 
been  equal  to  the  quantity  disposed  of,  and  there  is  open  to  set 
tlement  about  133,000,000  acres  of  surveyed  land. 

The  great  enterprise  of  connecting  the  Atlantic  with  the  Pa 
cific  States,  by  railways  and  telegraph  lines,  has  been  entered 
upon  with  a  vigor  that  gives  assurance  of  success,  notwithstand 
ing  the  embarrassments  arising  from  the  prevailing  high  prices 
of  materials  and  labor.  The  route  of  the  main  line  of  the  road 
has  been  definitely  located  for  one  hundred  miles  westward  from 
the  central  point  at  Omaha  City,  Nebraska,  and  a  preliminary 
location  of  the  Pacific  Railroad  of  California  has  been  made 
from  Sacramento,  eastward,  to  the  great  bend  of  the  Mucker 
River  in  Nevada.  Numerous  discoveries  of  gold,  silver  and  cin- 
iiabar  mines  have  been  added  to  the  many  heretofore  known, 
and  the  country  occupied  by  the  Sierra  Nevada  and  Rocky 


TUB  MAKTYR'S  MONUMENT.  273 

Mountains  and  the  subordinate  ranges  now  teems  with  enter 
prising  labor,  which  is  richly  remunerative. 

It  is  believed  that  the  product  of  the  mines  of  precious  metals  in 
that  region  has,  during  the  year,  reached,  if  not  exceeded,  $100,- 
000,000  in  value.  It  was  recommended  in  my  last  Annual  Message 
that  our  Indian  system  be  remodeled.  Congress  at  its  last  session, 
acting  upon  the  recommendation,  did  provide  for  reorganizing 
the  system  in  California,  and  it  is  believed  that  under  the  pres 
ent  organization  the  management  of  the  Indians  there  will  be 
attended  with  reasonable  success.  Much  yet  remains  to  be  done 
to  provide  for  the  proper  government  of  the  Indians  in  other 
pacts  of  the  country,  to  render  it  secure  for  the  advancing  set 
tler,  and  to  provide  for  the  welfare  of  the  nation.  The  Secre 
tary  reiterates  his  recommendations,  and  to  them  the  attention 
of  Congress  is  invited. 

The  liberal  provisions  made  by  Congress  for  paying  pensions 
to  invalid  soldiers  and  sailors  of  the  Republic,  and  to  the 
widows,  orphans,  and  dependent  mothers  of  those  who  have 
fallen  in  battle  or  died  of  disease  contracted,  or  of  wounds 
received  in  the  service  of  their  country,  have  been  diligently 
administered. 

There  have  been  added  to  the  pension  rolls  during  the  year 
ending  the  30th  day  of  June  last,  the  names  of  16,770  invalid 
soldiers,  and  of  271  disabled  seamen,  making  the  present  num 
ber  of  army  invalid  pensioners  22,767,  and  of  navy  invalid  pen 
sioners  712.  Of  widows,  orphans,  and  mothers,  22,198  have 
been  placed  on  the  Army  Pension  Rolls,  and  248  on  the  Navy 
Rolls.  The  present  number  of  army  pensioners  of  this  class  is 
25,443,  and  of  navy  pensioners,  793.  At  the  beginning  of  the 
year  the  number  of  Revolutionary  pensioners  was  1,430.  Only 
twelve  of  them  were  soldiers,  of  whom  seven  have  since  died. 
The  remainder  are  those  who,  under  the  law,  receive  pensions 
because  of  relationship  to  Revolutionary  soldiers.  During  the 
year  ending  the  30th  of  June,  1864,  $4,504,616  92  have  been 
paid  to  pensioners  of  all  classes. 

I  cheerfully  commend  to  your  continued  patronage  the  benev 
olent  institutions  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  which  have  hith 
erto  been  established  or  fostered  by  Congress,  and  respectfully 


274  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

refer  for  information  concerning  them,  and  in  relation  to  the 
Washington  Aqueduct,  the  Capitol,  and  other  matters  of  local 
interest,  to  the  report  of  the  Secretary. 

The  Agricultural  Department,  under  the  supervision  of  its 
present  energetic  and  faithful  head,  is  rapidly  commending  it 
self  to  the  great  and  vital  interest  it  was  created  to  advance. 
It  is  peculiarly  the  People's  Department,  in  which  they  feel 
moro  directly  concerned  than  in  any  other.  I  commend  it  to 
the  continued  attention  and  fostering  care  of  Congress. 

The  war  continues.  Since  the  last  Annual  Message  all  the 
important  lines  and  positions  then  occupied  by  our  forces  have 
been  maintained,  and  our  armies  have  steadily  advanced,  thus 
liberating  the  regions  left  in  the  rear,  so  that  Missouri,  Kentucky, 
Tennessee,  and  parts  of  other  States  have  again  produced  rea 
sonably  lair  crops. 

The  must  remarkable  feature  in  the  military  operations  of  the 
year,  is  General  Sherman's  attempted  inarch  of  three  hundred 
miles  directly  through  an  insurgent  region.  It  tends  to  show  a 
great  increase  of  our  relative  strength,  that  our  General-in-Chief 
should  feel  able  to  confront  and  hold  in  check  every  active  force 
of  the  enemy,  and  yet  to  detach  a  well  appointed  large  army  to 
move  on  such  an  expedition.  The  result  not  yet  being  known, 
conjecture  in  regard  to  it  cannot  here  be  indulged. 

Important  movements  have  also  occurred  during  the  year  to 
the  effect  of  moulding  society  for  durability  in  the  Union. 
Although  short  of  complete  success,  it  is  much  in  the  right 
direction  that  12,000  citizens  in  each  of  the  States  of  Arkansas 
and  Louisiana  have  organized  loyal  State  Governments  with 
free  constitutions,  and  are  earnestly  struggling  to  maintain 
and  administer  them.  The  movement  in  the  same  direction, 
more  extensive,  though  less  definite,  in  Missouri,  Kentucky, 
and  Tennessee  should  not  be  overlooked.  But  Maryland  pre 
sents  the  example  of  complete  success.  Maryland  is  secure  to 
Liberty  and  Union  for  all  the  future.  The  genius  of  rebellion 
will  no  more  claim  Maryland.  Like  another  foul  spirit  being 
driven  out,  it  may  seek  to  tear  her,  but  it  will  woo  her  no 
more. 

At  the  last  session  of  Congress  a  proposed  amendment  of  the 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  275 

Constitution,  abolishing  slavery  throughout  the  United  States, 
passed  the  Senate,  but  failed  for  lack  of  the  requisite  two- 
thirds  vote  in  the  House  of  Representatives.  Although  the 
present  is  the  same  Congress,  and  nearly  the  same  members,  and 
without  questioning  the  wisdom  or  patriotism  of  those  who 
stood  in  opposition,  I  venture  to  recommend  the  reconsidera 
tion  and  passage  of  the  measure  at  the  present  session.  Of 
course,  the  abstract  question  is  not  changed,  but  an  intervening 
election  shows  almost  certainly  that  the  next  Congress  will  pass 
the  measure  if  this  does  not.  Hence  there  is  only  a  question 
of  time  as  to  when  the  proposed  amendment  will  go  to  the 
States  for  their  action,  and  as  it  is  to  go,  at  all  events  may  we 
not  agree  that  the  sooner  the  better.  It  is  not  claimed  that  the 
election  has  imposed  a  duty  on  members  to  change  their  views 
or  their  votes  any  further  than  as  an  additional  element  to  be 
considered.  Their  judgment  may  be  affected  by  it.  It  is  the 
voice  of  the  people  now  for  the  first  time  heard  upon  the  ques 
tion.  In  a  great  national  crisis  like  ours,  unanimity  of  action 
among  those  seeking  a  common  end  is  very  desirable,  almost 
indispensable,  and  yet  no  approach  to  such  unanimity  is  attain 
able  unless  some  deference  shall  be  paid  to  the  will  of  the  ma 
jority.  In  this  case  the  common  end  is  the  maintenance  of  the 
Union,  and  among  the  means  to  secure  that  end,  such  will, 
through  the  election,  is  most  clearly  declared  in  favor  of  such 
constitutional  amendment.  The  most  reliable  indication  of 
public  purpose  in  this  country  is  derived  through  our  popular 
elections.  Judging  by  the  recent  canvass  and  its  result,  the 
purpose  of  the  people  within  the  loyal  States,  to  maintain  the 
integrity  of  the  Union,  was  never  more  firm  nor  more  nearly 
unanimous  than  now.  The  extraordinary  calmness  and  good 
order  with  which  the  millions  of  voters  met  and  mingled  at  the 
polls,  give  strong  assurance  of  this.  Not  only  all  those  who 
supported  the  Union  ticket  (so  called),  but  a  great  majority  of 
the  opposing  party  also  may  be  fairly  claimed  to  entertain  and 
to  be  actuated  by  the  same  purpose.  It  is  an  unanswerable 
argument  to  this  effect,  that  no  candidate  for  any  office  whatever, 
high  or  low,  has  ventured  to  seek  votes  on  the  avowal  that  he 
was  for  giving  up  the  Union.  There  has  been  much  impugn- 


276       THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

ing  of  motives  and  much  heated  controversy  as  to  the  proper 
means  and  best  mode  of  advancing  the  Union  cause,  but  in  the 
distinct  issue  of  Union  or  no  Union,  the  politicians  have  shown 
their  instinctive  knowledge  that  there  is  no  diversity  among  the 
people.  In  affording  the  people  the  fair  opportunity  of  show 
ing  one  to  another,  and  to  the  world,  this  firmness  and  unanim 
ity  of  purpose,  the  election  has  been  of  vast  value  to  the 
national  cause.  The  election  has  exhibited  another  fact  not 
less  valuable  to  be  known — the  fact  that  we  do  not  approach 
exhaustion  in  the  most  important  branch  of  national  resources : 
that  of  living  men.  While  it  is  melancholy  to  reflect  that  the 
war  has  filled  so  many  graves  and  caused  mourning  to  so  many 
hearts,  it  is  some  relief  to  know  that,  compared  with  the  sur 
viving,  the  fallen  have  been  so  few.  While  corps,  and  divisions, 
and  regiments  have  formed,  and  fought,  and  dwindled,  and 
gone  out  of  existence,  a  great  majority  of  the  men  who  com 
posed  them  are  still  living.  The  same  is  true  of  the  naval  ser 
vice.  The  election  returns  prove  this.  So  many  voters  could 
not  else  be  found.  The  States  regularly  holding  elections  both 
now  and  four  years  ago,  to  wit :  California,  Connecticut,  Dela 
ware,  Illinois,  Indiana,  Iowa,  Kentucky,  Maine,  Maryland,  Massa 
chusetts,  Michigan,  Minnesota,  Missouri,  New  Hampshire,  New 
Jersey,  New  York,  Ohio,  Oregon,  Pennsylvania,  Rhode  Island, 
Vermont,  West  Virginia,  and  Wisconsin,  cast  3,982,011  votes 
now,  against  3,870,222  cast  then,  showing  an  aggregate  now  of 
3,982,011,  to  which  is  to  be  added  33,762  cast  now  in  the  new 
States  of  Kansas  and  Nevada,  which  States  did  not  vote  in  1860 
— thus  swelling  the  aggregate  to  4,015.773,  and  the  net  increase 
during  the  three  years  and  a  half  of  war  to  145,551.  *  *  * 
To  this,  again,  should  be  added  the  number  of  all  soldiers 
in  the  field  from  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  New  Jersey, 
Delaware,  Indiana,  Illinois  and  California,  who,  by  the  laws 
of  those  States,  could  not  vote  away  from  their  homes,  and 
which  number  can  not  be  less  than  90,000.  Nor  yet  is  this 
all.  The  number  in  organized  territories  is  triple  now  what 
it  was  four  years  ago ;  while  thousands,  white  and  black,  join 
us  as  the  national  arms  press  back  the  insurgent  lines — so 
much  is  shown  affirmative!}7  and  negatively  by  the  election. 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  277 

It  is  not  material  to  inquire  how  the  increase  has  been  pro 
duced,  or  to  show  that  it  would  have  been  greater  but  for  the 
war,  which  is  probably  true;  the  important  fact  remains 
demonstrated  that  we  have  more  men  now  than  we  had 
when  the  war  began;  that  we  are  not  exhausted  nor  in 
process  of  exhaustion ;  that  we  are  gaining  strength,  and  may, 
if  need  be,  maintain  the  contest  indefinitely.  This  as  to  men. 

Material  resources  are  now  more  complete  and  abundant  than 
ever.  The  national  resources,  then,  are  unexhausted,  and,  aa 
we  believe,  inexhaustible.  The  public  purpose  to  re-establish 
and  maintain  the  national  authority  is  unchanged,  and,  as  we 
believe,  unchangeable.  The  manner  of  continuing  the  effort 
remains  to  choose.  On  careful  consideration  of  all  the  evi 
dence  accessible,  it  seems  to  me  that  no  attempt  at  negotiation 
with  the  insurgent  leader  could  result  in  any  good.  He  would 
accept  of  nothing  short  of  the  severance  of  the  Union.  His 
declarations  to  this  effect  are  explicit  and  oft-repeated.  He 
does  not  attempt  to  deceive  us.  He  affords  us  no  excuse  to 
deceive  ourselves.  We  can  not  voluntarily  yield  it.  Between 
him  and  us  the  issue  is  distinct,  simple,  and  inflexible.  It  is 
an  issue  which  can  only  be  tried  by  war,  and  decided  by  victory. 
If  we  yield  we  are  beaten.  If  the  Southern  people  fail  him  he 
is  beaten ;  either  way  it  would  be  the  victory  and  defeat  follow 
ing  war.  What  is  true,  however,  of  him  who  heads  the  insur 
gent  cause,  is  not  necessarily  true  of  those  who  follow.  Al 
though  he  can  not  re-accept  the  Union,  they  can.  Some  of 
them  we  know  already  desire  peace  and  re-union.  The  number 
of  such  may  increase.  They  can  at  any  moment  have  peace 
simply  by  laying  dowTn  their  arms  and  submitting  to  the 
national  authority  under  the  Constitution.  After  so  much  the 
Government  could  not,  if  it  would,  maintain  war  against  them. 
The  loyal  people  would  not  sustain  or  allow  it.  If  questions 
should  remain  we  would  adjust  them  by  the  peaceful  means  of 
legislation,  conference,  courts  and  votes.  Operating  only  in 
constitutional  and  lawful  channels,  some  certain  and  other  pos 
sible  questions  are  and  would  be  beyond  the  Executive  power 
to  adjust,  as,  for  instance,  the  admission  of  members  into  Con 
gress,  and  whatever  might  require  the  appropriation  of  money. 


278  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

The  Executive  power  itself  would  be  greatly  diminished  by  the 
cessation  of  actual  war.  Pardons  and  remissions  of  forfeiture, 
however,  would  still  be  within  Executive  control.  In  what 
spirit  and  temper  this  control  would  be  exercised,  can  be  fairly 
judged  of  by  the  past.  A  year  ago  general  pardon  and 
amnesty,  upon  specified  terms,  were  offered  to  all  except  certain 
designated  classes,  and  it  was  at  the  same  time  made  known 
that  the  excepted  classes  were  still  within  contemplation  of 
special  clemency.  During  the  year  many  availed  themselves  of 
the  general  provision,  and  many  more  would,  only  that  the 
signs  of  bad  faith  in  some  led  to  such  precautionary  measures 
as  rendered  the  practical  process  less  easy  and  certain.  Dur 
ing  the  same  time,  also,  special  pardons  have  been  granted  to 
individuals  of  excepted  classes,  and  no  voluntary  application 
has  been  denied. 

Thus  practically  the  door  has  been  for  a  full  year  open  to  all, 
except  such  as  were  not  in  condition  to  make  free  choice ;  that 
is,  such  as  were  in  custody  or  under  constraint.  It  is  still  so 
open  to  all,  but  the  time  may  come,  probably  will  come,  when 
public  duty  shall  demand  that  it  be  closed,  and  that  in  lieu, 
more  vigorous  measures  than  heretofore  shall  be  adopted. 

In  presenting  the  abandonment  of  armed  resistance  to  the 
national  authority  on  the  part  of  the  insurgents,  as  the  only  in 
dispensable  condition  to  ending  the  war  on  the  part  of  the  Gov 
ernment,  I  retract  nothing  heretofore  said  as  to  slavery.  I  re 
peat,  the  declaration  made  a  year  ago,  and  that  while  I  remain 
in  r»y  present  position  I  shall  not  attempt  to  retract  or  modify 
the  Emancipation  Proclamation.  Nor  shall  I  return  to  slavery 
any  person  who  is  free  by  the  terms  of  that  proclamation,  or  by 
any  of  the  acts  of  Congress.  If  the  people  should,  by  whatever 
raode  or  means,  make  it  an  Executive  duty  to  reenslave  such 
persons,  another,  and  not  I,  must  be  their  instrument  to  per 
form  it. 

In  stating  a  single  condition  of  peace,  I  mean  simply  to  say 
that  the  war  will  cease  on  the  part  of  the  Government  whenever 
it  shall  have  ceased  on  the  part  of  those  who  began  it. 

(Signed)  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  279 

SECOND  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS. 

At  the  Presidential  election  of  1864,  Mr.  Lincoln  was 
reflected  by  a  majority  so  large  and  so  widely  diffused  as 
to  be  the  most  remarkable  approval  of  the  course  of  any 
administration  since  the  reelection  of  Mr.  Jefferson  in 
1801.  Even  the  reelection  of  General  Jackson  was  not 
equal  to  it  in  this  respect.  On  the  4th  of  March,  1865, 
Mr.  Lincoln  took  his  second  oath  of  office,  and  delivered 
the  following  Inaugural  Address ;  the  solemnity,  the 
piety,  and  the  almost  tender  loving-kindness  of  which  was 
at  once  remarked  throughout  this  country  and  Europe. 

Fellow- Countrymen — At  this  second  •  appearing  to  take  the 
oath  of  the  Presidential  office,  there  is  less  occasion  for  an  ex 
tended  address  than  there  was  at  the  first.  Then  a  statement 
somewhat  in  detail  of  a  course  to  be  pursued  seemed  very  fit 
ting  and  proper.  Now,  at  the  expiration  of  four  years,  during 
which  public  declarations  have  been  constantly  called  forth  on 
every  point  and  phase  of  the  great  contest  which  still  absorbs 
the  attention  and  engrosses  the  energies  of  the  nation,  little  that 
is  new  could  be  presented. 

The  progress  of  our  arms,  upon  which  all  else  chiefly  depends 
is  as  well  known  to  the  public  as  to  myself,  and  it  is,  I  trust, 
reasonably  satisfactory  and  encouraging  to  all.  With  high  hope 
for  the  future,  no  prediction  in  regard  to  it  is  ventured. 

On  the  occasion  corresponding  to  this  four  years  ago,  all 
thoughts  were  anxiously  directed  to  an  impending  civil  war. 
All  dreaded  it ;  all  sought  to  avoid  it.  While  the  ianugural 
address  was  being  delivered  from  this  place,  devoted  altogether 
to  saving  the  Union  without  war,  insurgent  agents  were  in. the 
city  seeking  to  destroy  it  without  war — seeking  to  dissolve  the 
Union  and  divide  the  effects  by  negotiation.  Both  parties 
deprecated  war,  but  one  of  them  would  make  war  rather  than 
let  the  nation  survive,  and  the  other  would  accept  war  rather 
than  let  it  perish,  and  the  war  came. 

One-eighth  of  the  whole  population  were  colored  slaves,  not 


280  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

distributed  generally  over  the  Union,  but  localized  in  the  South 
ern  part  of  it.  These  slaves  constituted  a  peculiar  and  power 
ful  interest.  All  knew  that  this  interest  was  somehow  the  cause 
of  the  war.  To  strengthen,  perpetuate  and  extend  this  interest, 
was  the  object  for  which  the  insurgents  would  rend  the  Union 
even  by  war,  while  the  Government  claimed  no  right  to  do 
more  than  to  restrict  the  territorial  enlargement  of  it. 

Neither  party  expected  for  the  war  the  magnitude  or  the 
duration  which  it  has  already  attained.  Neither  anticipated 
that  the  cause  of  the  conflict  might  cease  with,  or  even  before 
the  conflict  itself  should  cease.  Each  looked  for  an  easier  tri 
umph,  and  a  result  less  fundamental  and  astounding. 

Both  read  the  same  Bible  and  pray  to  the  same  God,  and  each 
invokes  his  aid  against  the  other.  It  may  seem  strange  that  any 
men  should  dare  to  ask  a  just  God's  assistance  in  wringing 
their  bread  from  the  sweat  of  other  men's  faces,  but  let  us 
judge  not,  that  we  be  not  judged.  The  prayers  of  both  could 
not  be  answered.  That  of  neither  has  been  answered  fully. 
The  Almighty  has  his  own  purposes.  "  Woe  unto  the  world 
because  of  oifences,  for  it  must  needs  be  that  offences  come : 
but  woe  to  that  man  by  whom  the  offence  cometh."  If  we 
shall  suppose  that  American  slavery  is  one  of  these  offences, 
which  in  the  providence  x)f  God  must  needs  come,  but  which 
having  continued  through  his  appointed  time,  He  now  wills  to 
remove,  and  that  He  gives  to  both  North  and  South  this  terrible 
war  as  the  woe  due  to  those  by  whom  the  offence  came,  sliall  we 
discern  therein  any  departure  from  those  divine  attributes  which 
the  believers  in  a  living  God  always  ascribe  to  Him?  Fondly 
do  we  hope,  fervently  do  we  pray,  that  this  mighty  scourge  of 
war  may  soon  pass  away.  Yet,  if  God  wills  that  it  continue 
until  all  the  wealth  piled  by  the  bondman's  two  hundred  and 
fifty  years  of  unrequited  toil  shall  be  sunk,  and  until  every 
drop  of  blood  drawn  with  the  lash  shall  be  paid  with  another 
drawn  with  the  sword,  as  was  said  three  thousand  years  ago ; 
so,  still  it  must  be  said,  "  The  judgments  of  the  Lord  are  true 
and  righteous  altogether." 

With  malice  toward  none,  with  charity  for  all,  with  firmness 
in  the  right,  as  God  gives  us  to  see  the  right,  let  us  strive  on  to 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  281 

finish  the  work  we  are  in,  to  bind  up  the  nation's  wounds,  to 
care  for  him  who  shall  have  borne  the  battle  and  for  his  widow 
and  orphans,  to  do  all  which  may  achieve  and  cherish  a  just  and 
a  lasting  peace  among  ourselves  and  with  all  nations. 

NEGROES   IN   THE   REBEL    ARMIES. 

On  the  19th  of  March,  1865,  there  was  a  large  gather 
ing  of  people  in  front  of  the  National  Hotel  at  Washing 
ton,  on  occasion  of  the  presentation  of  a  rebel  flag, 
captured  at  Anderson  by  the  140th  Indiana  regiment. 
After  a  speech  by  Governor  Morton,  of  Indiana,  the 
President  addressed  the  assembly  substantially  as  follows, 
directing  his  remarks  chiefly  to  the  subject  of  the  then 
recently  proposed  arming  of  their  negroes  by  the  rebels. 
Mr.  Lincoln's  speech  on  this  occasion  was  a  striking 
exhibition  of  that  combination  of  humor  and  sagacity 
which  was  one  of  the  characteristic  traits  of  his  mind, 
and  which  enabled  him  to  "  put  things"  in  such  a  clear, 
convincing,  and  attractive  way  before  the  public : 

Felloir-citizens — It  will  be  but  a  very  few  words  that  I  shall 
undertake  to  say.  I  was  born  in  Kentucky,  raised  in  Indiana, 
and  lived  in  Illinois,  [laughter,]  and  now  I  am  here,  where  it  is 
my  business  to  care  equally  for  the  good  people  of  all  the  States. 
I  am  glad  to  see  an  Indiana  regiment  on  this  day  able  to  present 
the  captured  flag  to  the  Governor  of  Indiana.  I  am  not  dis 
posed  in  saying  this  to  make  a  distinction  between  the  States, 
for  all  have  done  equally  well.  There  are  but  few  views  or 
aspects  of  this  great  war  upon  which  I  have  not  said  or  written 
something  whereby  my  own  opinions  might  be  known.  But 
there  is  one — the  recent  attempt  of  our  erring  brethren,  as  they 
are  sometimes  called,  to  employ  the  negro  to  fight  for  them.  I 
have  neither  written  or  made  a  speech  on  that  subject,  because 
that  was  their  business,  not  mine ;  and  if  I  had  a  wish  upon  the 
subject,  I  had  not  the  power  to  introduce  it  or  make  it  effective. 


282  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

The  great  question  with  them  was  whether  the  negro,  being  put 
into  the  army,  will  fight  for  them.  I  do  not  know,  and  there 
fore  cannot  decide.  They  ought  to  know  better  than  I.  I  have, 
in  my  lifetime,  heard  many  arguments  why  the  negroes  ought 
to  be  slaves ;  but  if  they  fight  for  those  who  keep  them  in 
slavery,  it  will  be  a  better  argument  than  any  I  have  yet  heard. 
[Laughter  and  applause.]  He  who  will  fight  for  that  ought  to 
be  a  slave.  [Applause.]  They  have  concluded,  at  last,  to  take 
one  out  of  four  of  the  slaves,  and  put  them  in  the  army  ;  and 
that  one  out  of  the  four  who  will  fight  to  keep  the  others  in 
slavery  ought  to  be  a  slave  himself,  unless  he  is  killed  in  a  fight. 
[Applause.]  While  I  have  often  said  that  all  men  ought  to  be 
free,  yet  I  would  allow  those  colored  persons  to  be  slaves  who 
want  to  be ;  and  next  to  them  those  white  people  who  argue  in 
favor  of  making  other  people  slaves.  [Applause.]  I  am  in 
favor  of  giving  an  appointment  to  such  white  men  to  try  it  on 
for  these  slaves.  I  will  say  one  thing  in  regard  to  the  negroes 
being  employed  to  fight  for  them.  I  do  know  he  cannot  fight 
and  stay  at  home  and  make  bread  too.  And  as  one  is  about  as 
important  as  the  other  to  them,  I  don't  care  which  they  do.  I 
am  rather  in  favor  of  having  them  try  them  as  soldiers.  They 
lack  one  vote  of  doing  that,  and  I  wish  I  could  send  my  vote 
over  the  river,  so  that  I  might  cast  it  in  favor  of  allowing  the 
negro  to  fight.  [Applause.]  But  they  cannot  fight  and  work 
both.  We  must  now  see  the  bottom  of  the  enemy's  resources. 
They  will  stand  out  as  long  as  they  can,  and  if  the  negro  will 
fight  for  them,  they  must  allow  him  to  fight.  They  have  drawn 
upon  their  last  branch  of  resources,  and  we  can  now  see  the 
bottom.  I  am  glad  to  see  the  end  so  near  at  hand.  [Applause.] 
I  have  said  now  more  than  I  intended,  and  will  therefore  bid 
you  good  bye. 

GENERAL    GRANT'S   CROWNING   VICTORY — THE   QUESTION 
OF   REORGANIZATION. 

At  last  came  the  inevitable  conclusion — Grant's  crown 
ing  victory — the  capture  of  Richmond,  the  surrender  of 
General  Lee's  army  at  Appomattox  Court  House,  and  the 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.       283 

grand  crash  of  the  rebellion.  On  the  evening  of  the  llth 
of  April,  there  were  wide-spread  rejoicings  at  Washing 
ton,  illuminations  and  bonfires.  The  citizens  assembled 
in  large  numbers  before  the  White  House,  and  the  Presi 
dent  made  to  them  the  following  speech.  He  took  the 
opportunity  to  set  forth  his  views  upon  the  reorganization 
of  society  in  the  so-called  seceded  States,  and  the  re- 
establishment  in  them  of  the  national  authority.  As  his 
manner  was  he  did  not  underrate  the  difficulty  of  the 
task  ;  but  he  pointed  out  the  simplest  and  directest  means 
of  its  accomplishment : 

"We  meet  this  evening,  not  in  sorrow,  but  in  gladness  of  heart. 
The  evacuation  of  Petersburgh  and  Richmond,  and  the  surren 
der  of  the  principal  insurgent  army,  give  hopes  of  a  righteous 
and  speedy  peace,  whose  joyous  expression  cannot  be  restrained. 
In  the  midst  of  this,  however,  he  from  whom  all  blessings  flow 
must  not  be  forgotten.  A  call  for  a  national  thanksgiving  is 
being  prepared,  and  will  be  duly  promulgated.  Nor  must 
those  whose  harder  part  gives  us  the  cause  of  rejoicing  be  over 
looked.  Their  honors  must  not  be  parceled  out  with  others. 
I  myself  was  near  the  front,  and  had  the  high  pleasure  of  trans 
mitting  much  of  the  good  news  to  you.  But  no  part  of  the 
honor  for  plan  or  execution  is  mine.  To  General  Grant,  his 
skillful  officers,  and  brave  men,  all  belongs.  The  gallant  navy 
stood  ready,  but  was  not  in  reach  to  take  active  part.  By  these 
recent  successes  the  reinauguration  of  the  national  authority — 
reconstruction,  which  has  had  a  large  share  of  thought  from 
the  first — is  pressed  much  more  closely  upon  our  attention.  It 
is  fraught  with  great  difficulty.  Unlike  a  war  between  inde 
pendent  nations,  there  is  no  authorized  organ  for  us  to  treat 
with.  No  one  man  has  authority  to  give  up  the  rebellion  for 
any  other  man.  We  must  simply  begin  with  and  mould  from 
disorganized  and  discordant  elements.  Nor  is  it  a  small  addi 
tional  embarrassment  that  we,  the  loyal  people,  differ  among 
ourselves  as  to  the  mode,  manner,  and  measure  of  reconstruc- 


284  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

tion.  As  a  general  rule,  I  abstain  from  reading  the  reports 
of  attacks  upon  myself,  wishing  not  to  be  provoked  by  that  to 
which  I  cannot  properly  offer  an  answer.  In  spite  of  this  pre 
caution,  however,  it  conies  to  my  knowledge  that  I  am  much 
censured  for  some  supposed  agency  in  setting  up  and  seeking 
to  sustain  the  new  State  Government  of  Louisiana.  In  this  I 
have  done  just  so  much  and  no  more  than  the  public  knows. 
In  the  Annual  Message  of  December,  1863,  and  the  accompany 
ing  proclamation,  I  presented  a  plan  of  reconstruction,  as  the 
phrase  goes,  which  I  promised,  if  adopted  by  any  State,  would 
be  acceptable  to  and  sustained  by  the  Executive  Government  of 
the  nation.  I  distinctly  stated  that  this  was  not  the  only  plan 
which  might,  possibly,  be  acceptable ;  and  I  also  distinctly 
protested  that  the  Executive  claimed  no  right  to  say  when  or 
whether  members  should  be  admitted  to  seats  in  Congress  from 
such  States.  This  plan  was,  in  advance,  submitted  to  the  then 
Cabinet,  and  approved  by  every  member  of  it. 

One  of  them  suggested  that  I  should  then  and  in  that  connec 
tion,  apply  the  Emancipation  Proclamation  to  the  theretofore 
excepted  parts  of  Virginia  and  Louisiana,  that  I  should  drop 
the  suggestion  about  apprenticeship  for  freed  people,  and  that 
I  should  omit  the  protest  against  my  own  power  in  regard  to 
the  admission  of  members  of  Congress.  But  even  he  approved 
every  part  and  parcel  of  the  plan  which  has  since  been  em 
ployed  or  touched  by  the  action  of  Louisiana.  The  new  con 
stitution  of  Louisiana,  declaring  emancipation  for  the  whole 
State,  practically  applies  the  proclamation  to  the  part  previously 
excepted.  It  does  not  adopt  apprenticeship  for  freed  people,  and 
is  silent,  as  it  could  not  well  be  otherwise,  about  the  admission 
of  members  to  Congress.  So  that  as  it  applied  to  Louisiana 
every  member  of  the  Cabinet  fully  approved  the  plan.  The 
message  went  to  Congress,  and  I  received  many  commendations 
of  the  plan,  written  and  verbal,  and  not  a  single  objection  to  it, 
from  any  professed  emancipationist,  came  to  my  knowledge  un 
til  after  the  news  reached  Washington  that  the  people  of  Louisi 
ana  had  begun  to  move  in  accordance  with  it.  From  about 
July,  1862,  I  had  corresponded  with  different  persons  supposed 
to  be  interested  in  seeking  a  reconstruction  of  a  State  Govern- 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  285 

ment  for  Louisiana.  When  the  Message  of  1863,  with  the  plan 
before  mentioned,  reached  New-Orleans,  General  Banks  wrote 
me  that  he  was  confident  that  the  people,  with  his  military  co 
operation,  would  reconstruct  substantially  on  that  plan.  I 
wrote  to  him  and  some  of  them  to  try  it.  They  tried  it,  and, 
the  result  is  known.  Such  has  been  my  only  agency  in  getting 
up  the  Louisiana  Government.  As  to  sustaining  it,  my  promise 
is  out,  as  before  stated.  But  as  bad  promises  are  better  broken 
than  kept,  I  shall  treat  this  as  a  bad  promise  and  break  it  when 
ever  I  shall  be  convinced  that  keeping  it  is  adverse  to  the  pub 
lic  interest,  but  I  have  not  yet  been  so  convinced. 

I  have  been  shown  a  letter  on  this  subject,  supposed  to  be  an 
able  one,  in  which  the  writer  expresses  regret  that  my  mind  has 
not  seemed  to  be  definitely  fixed  on  the  question,  whether  the 
seceded  States,  so  called,  are  in  the  Union  or  out  of  it.  It 
would,  perhaps,  add  astonishment  to  his  regret  were  he  to 
learn  that  since  I  have  found  professed  Union  men  endeavoring 
to  answer  that  question  I  have  purposely  .forborne  any  public 
expression  upon  it.  As  appeal's  to  me,  that  question  has  not 
been,  nor  yet  is  a  practically  material  one,  and  that  any  discus 
sion  of  it  while  it  thus  remains  practically  immaterial,  could 
have  no  effect  other  than  the  mischievous  one  of  dividing  our 
friends.  As  yet,  whatever  it  may  become,  that  question  is  bad 
as  the  basis  of  a  controversy,  and  good  for  nothing  at  all — a 
merely  pernicious  abstraction.  We  all  agree  that  the  seceded 
States,  so  called,  are  out  of  their  proper  practical  relation  with 
the  Union,  and  that  the  sole  object  of  the  Government,  civil  and 
military,  in  regard  to  these  States,  is  to  again  get  them  into  their 
proper  practical  relation.  I  believe  that  it  is  not  only  possible^ 
but,  in  fact,  easier,  to  do  this  without  deciding,  or  even  consid 
ering,  whether  these  States  have  ever  been  out  of  the  Union, 
than  with  it.  Finding  themselves  safely  at  home,  it  would  be 
utterly  immaterial  whether  they  had  been  abroad.  Let  us  all 
join  in  doing  the  acts  necessary  to  restore  the  proper  practical 
relations  between  those  States  and  the  nation,  and  each  forever 
after  innocently  indulge  his  own  opinion  whether  in  doing  the 
acts  he  brought  the  States  from  without  into  the  Union,  or  only 
gave  them  proper  assistance,  they  never  having  been  out  of  it. 


286  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

The  amount  of  constituency,  so  to  speak,  on  which  the  Louisiana 
Government  rests,  would  be  more  satisfactory  to  all  if  it  con 
tained  50,000,  or  30,000,  or  even  20,000,  instead  of  12,000,  as  it 
does.  It  is  also  unsatisfactory  to  some  that  the  elective  fran 
chise  is  not  given  to  the  colored  man.  I  would  myself  prefer 
that  it  were  now  conferred  on  the  very  intelligent,  and  on  those 
who  serve  our  cause  as  soldiers.  Still  the  question  is  not 
whether  the  Louisiana  Government,  as  it  stands,  is  quite  all 
that  is  desirable.  The  question  is,  will  it  be  wiser  to  take  it  as 
it  is,  and  help  to  improve  it,  or  to  reject  and  disperse  ?  Can 
Louisiana  be  brought  into  proper  practical  relation  with  the 
Union  sooner  by  sustaining  or  by  discarding  her  new  State  Gov 
ernment  ?  Some  twelve  thousand  voters  in  the  heretofore  slave 
State  of  Louisiana  have  sworn  allegiance  to  the  Union,  assumed 
to  be  the  rightful  political  power  of  the  State,  held  elections, 
organized  a  State  Government,  adopted  a  Free  State  constitu 
tion,  giving  the  benefit  of  public  schools  equally  to  black  and 
white,  and  empowering  the  Legislature  to  confer  the  elective 
franchise  upon  the  colored  man.  This  Legislature  has  already 
voted  to  ratify  the  constitutional  amendment  recently  passed  by 
Congress,  abolishing  slavery  throughout  the  nation.  These 
twelve  thousand  persons  are  thus  fully  committed  to  the  Union 
and  to  perpetuate  freedom  in  the  State ;  committed  to  the  very 
things,  and  nearly  all  things,  the  nation  wants,  and  they  ask  the 
nation's  recognition  and  its  assistance  to  make  good  this  com 
mittal.  Now  if  we  reject  and  spurn  them  we  do  our  utmost  to 
disorganize  and  disperse  them.  We  in  fact  say  to  the  white 
man,  you  are  worthless  or  worse ;  we  will  neither  help  you,  nor 
be  helped  by  you.  To  the  blacks  we  say:  This  cup  of  liberty 
which  these,  your  old  masters,  held  to  yo"r  lips,  we  will  clash 
from  you,  and  leave  you  to  the  chances  of  gathering  the  spilled 
and  scattered  contents  in  some  vague  a'- "  ^-defined  when,  wljerc 
and  how.  If  this  course,  discouraging  and  paralyzing  both 
white  and  black,  has  any  tendency  to  bring  Louisiana  into 
proper  practical  relations  with  the  Union,  I  have  so  far  been 
unable  to  perceive  it.  If,  on  the  contrary,  we  recognize  and 
sustain  the  new  government  of  Louisiana,  the  converse  of  all 
this  is  made  true.  We  encourage  the  hearts  and  nerve  the  arms 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.       287 

of  12,000  to  adhere  to  their  work,  and  argue  for  it,  and  proselyte 
for  it,  and  fight  for  it,  and  feed  it,  and  grow  it,  and  ripen  it  to 
a  complete  success.  The  colored  man,  too,  in  seeing  all  united 
for  him,  is  inspired  with  vigilance,  and  energy,  and  daring  to 
the  same  end.  Grant  that  he  desires  the  elective  franchise,  will 
he  not  obtain  it  sooner  by  saving  the  already  advanced  steps 
toward  it,  than  by  running  backward  over  them  ?  Concede 
that  the  new  Government  of  Louisiana  is  to  what  it  should  be 
as  the  egg  is  to  the  fowl,  we  shall  sooner  have  the  fowl  by  hatch 
ing  the  egg,  than  by  smashing  it.  [Laughter.]  Again,  if  we 
reject  Louisiana  we  also  reject  one  vote  in  favor  of  the  proposed 
amendment  to  the  national  constitution.  To  meet  this  proposi 
tion  it  has  been  argued  that  no  more  than  three-fourths  of  those 
States  which  have  not  attempted  secession  are  necessary  to  val- 
idly  ratify  the  amendment.  I  do  not  commit  myself  against  this 
further  than  to  say  that  such  a  ratification  would  be  questiona 
ble,  and  sure  to  be  persistently  questioned,  while  a  ratification 
by  three-fourths  of  all  the  States  would  be  unquestioned  and 
unquestionable.  I  repeat  the  question.  Can  Louisiana  be 
brought  into  proper  practical  relation  with  the  Union  sooner  by 
sustaining,  or  by  discarding  her  newT  State  Government  ?  What 
has  been  said  of  Louisiana  will  apply  to  other  States.  And  yet 
so  great  peculiarities  pertain  to  each  State,  and  such  important 
and  sudden  changes  occur  in  the  same  State,  and  withal  so  new 
and  unprecedented  is  the  whole  case,  that  no  exclusive  and  in 
flexible  plan  can  safely  be  prescribed  as  to  details  and  collater 
als.  Such  exclusive  and  inflexible  plan  would  surely  become  a 
new  entanglement.  Important  principles  may  and  must  be  in 
flexible.  In  the  present  situation,  as  the  phrase  goes,  it  may  be 
my  duty  to  make  some  new  announcement  to  the  people  of  the 
South.  I  am  considering  and  shall  not  fail  to  act  when  satisfied 
that  action  will  be  ^^ 

NO  MORE  "  SO-CALLED"  NEUTRALITY. 

The  people  of  this  country  can  never  forget  how,  as 
soon  as  there  appeared  to  be  any  chance  of  a  severance 
and  consequent  destruction  of  the  Republic,  the  Govern- 


288  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

ment  of  Great  Britain,  followed  by  that  of  France,  instead 
of  simply  remaining  neutral,  and  doing  nothing  to  aid 
either  the  rebels  or  the  Government,  issued  a  proclama 
tion  of  neutrality,  the  effect  of  which  was  to  degrade  a 
friendly  nation,  with  whom  those  countries  were  on  terms 
of  equal  intercourse,  and  to  which  they  were  bound  by 
treaties  recognizing  its  absolute  sovereignty  throughout 
its  territory,  to  the  level  of  a  rebel  power,  of  a  few  weeks' 
growth,  which  was  endeavoring  to  destroy  that  sover 
eignty  and  divide  that  territory.  Galling  as  this  was  to 
the  national  pride — and  no  one  felt  it  more  so  than  Mr. 
Lincoln — he  yet  wisely  bore  it  without  such  official 
manifestation  of  resentment  as  would  have  provoked 
measures  that  must  have  multiplied  the  difficulties  of  the 
Government,  and  increased  the  sufferings  and  sacrifices 
of  the  people.  He  saw  that  if  the  nation  maintained 
itself,  this  effort  against  its  prosperity  and  power  would 
only  recoil  against  those  who  made  it ;  and  he  so  shaped 
the  course  of  his  Administration  toward  the  great  foreign 
powers  that,  without  admitting  the  right  or  the  propriety 
of  their  action,  or,  sacrificing  the  dignity  of  the  country, 
he  could  yet  bend  the  warlike  energies  of  the  nation  to 
one  purpose,  sure  that  if  that  were  attained  all  else  would 
be  added  to  it.  But,  knowing  how  sensitive  the  people 
were  upon  this  point,  and  being  himself  no  less  so  than 
any  of  his  countrymen,  he,  on  the  next  day  but  one 
after  the  reception  of  the  news  of  General  Lee's  surren 
der,  April  llth,  issued  the  following  proclamation,  in 
which  he  announced  to  foreign  powers  that  if  they  con 
tinued  any  longer  to  place  the  national  vessels  of  this 
Republic  on  the  same  footing  with  rebel  cruisers,  their  own 
vessels  would  be  reduced  to  the  same  level  in  our  ports : 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  289 


PROCLAMATION. 

Whereas,  for  some  time  past,  vessels  of  war  of  the  United 
States  have  been  refused,  in  certain  ports,  privileges  and  immu 
nities  to  which  they  were  entitled  by  treaty,  public  law,  or  the 
comity  of  nations,  at  the  same  time  that  vessels  of  war  of  the 
country  wherein  the  said  privileges  and  immunities  have  been 
withheld,  have  enjoyed  them  fully  and  uninterruptedly  in  the 
ports  of  the  United  States,  which  condition  of  things  has  not 
always  been  forcibly  resisted  by  the  United  States ;  although, 
on  the  other  hand,  they  have  not  failed  to  protest  against  and 
declare  their  dissatisfaction  with  the  same.  In  the  view  of  the 
United  States,  no  condition^  any  longer  exists  which  can  be 
claimed  to  justify  the  denial  to  them  by  any  one  of  said  nations 
of  the  customary  naval  rights,  such  as  has  heretofore  been  so 
unnecessarily  persisted  in ;  now,  therefore,  I,  Abraham  Lincoln, 
President  of  the  United  States,  do  hereby  make  known  that,  if, 
after  a  reasonable  time  shall  have  elapsed  for  the  intelligence  of 
this  proclamation  to  have  reached  any  foreign  country  in  whose 
ports  the  said  privileges  and  immunities  shall  have  been  refused, 
as  aforesaid,  they  shall  continue  to  be  so  refused,  then  and  thence 
forth  the  same  privileges  and  immunities  shall  be  refused  to  the 
vessels  of  war  of  the  countiy  in  the  ports  of  the  United  States, 
and  this  refusal  shall  continue  until  the  Var  vessels  of  the  United 
States  shall  have  been  placed  upon  an  entire  equality,  in  the 
foreign  ports  aforesaid,  with  similar  vessels  of  other  countries. 
The  United  States,  whatever  claim  or  pretence  may  have  existed 
heretofore,  are  now  at  least. entitled  to  claim  and  concede  an 
entire  and  friendly  equality  of  rights  and  hospitalities  with  all 
maritime  nations. 

In  witness  whereof,  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand,  and  caused 
the  seal  of  the  United  States  to  be  affixed. 

Done  at  the  city  of  Washington,  this  eleventh  day  of  April, 
in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred 

[L.  s.]  and  sixty-five,  and  of  the  independence  of  the  United 
States  of  America  the  eighty-ninth. 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 
By  the  President : 

WM.  II.  SEWARD,  Secretary  of  State. 

13 


290  THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT. 

RECEPTION  OF  THE  BRITISH  MINISTER. 

Three  days  after  issuing  the  foregoing  proclamation 
Mr.  Lincoln  was  no  more.  No  public  act  or  speech 
of  his  marked  the  brief  interval.  But  on  the  very  eve 
of  his  violent  death  he  wrote  one  paper  which  exhibited 
the  candor,  the  wisdom,  and  the  kindness  of  his  soul  in  a 
notable  manner,  and  which  showed  that  the  proclamation 
which  was  the  last  to*  which  he  signed  his  name  was  insti 
gated  by  no  petty  spite,  no  desire  to  humiliate,  no  wish 
to  provoke  hostile  feeling.  Lord  Lyons  had  resigned, 
and  Sir  Frederick  Bruce  had  been  sent  to  represent  the 
British  Government  at  Washington.  He  was  about  to 
present  his  credentials;  his  reception  for  the  purpose 
of  presenting  his  letters  was  to  have  taken  place  on 
Saturday,  April  15th,  and  Mr.  Lincoln,  having  received 
an  intimation  of  what  Sir  Frederick  would  say  "on  that 
occasion,  wrote  out  on  the  afternoon  of  the  14th  his  pro 
posed  reply.  He  never  made  it.  The  British  minister 
did  not  present  his  credentials  until  some  days  after  Mr. 
Lincoln's  death.  The  speech  which  the  President  made 
in  reply  impressed  the  whole  country  and  Europe  by 
its  dignity,  its  good  sense,  its  candor,  and  its  generosity. 
There  is  the  highest  authority  for  saying  that  this  speech 
is  the  one  written  by  Mr.  Lincoln,  and  that  being  found 
in  his  portfolio,  it  was  wisely  adopted,  with  its  writer's 
policy,  by  Mr.  Johnson,  and  read  to  the  British  minister 
by  a  Secretary.  Thus  Mr.  Lincoln  actually  stretched  out 
his  hand  from  beyond  the  grave  to  guide  the  course  of  the 
Kepublic  which  he  had  done  so  much  to  save,  and  by  his 
services  to  which  he  earned  his  crown  of  martyrdom. 
The  reply  in  question  here  follows : 


THE  MARTYR'S  MONUMENT.  291 

Sir  Frederick  A.  W.  Bruce — Sir : — The  cordial  and  friendly 
sentiments  which  you  have  expressed  on  the  part  of  Her  Britan 
nic  Majesty  give  me  great  pleasure.  Great  Britain  and  the  United 
States,  by  the  extended  and  varied  forms  of  commerce  between 
them,  the  contiguity  of  positions  of  their  possessions,  and  the 
similarity  of  their  language  and  laws,  are  drawn  into  contrast 
and  intimate  intercourse  at  the  same  time.  They  are  from  the 
same  causes  exposed  to  frequent  occasions  of  misunderstanding, 
only  to  be  averted  by  mutual  forbearance.  So  eagerly  are  the 
people  of  the  two  countries  engaged  throughout  almost  the  whole 
world  in  the  pursuit  of  similar  commercial  enterprises,  accom 
panied  by  natural  rivalries  and  jealousies,  that  at  first  sight  it 
would  almost  seem  that  the  two  Governments  must  be  enemies, 
or  at  best,  cold  and  calculating  friends.  So  devoted  are  the 
two  nations  throughout  all  their  domain,  and  even  in  their  most 
remote  territorial  and  colonial  possessions,  to  the  principles  of 
civil  rights  and  constitutional  liberty,  that,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  superficial  observer  might  erroneously  count  upon  a  contin 
ued  concert  of  action  and  sympathy,  amounting  to  an  alliance 
between  them.  Each  is  charged  with  the  development  of  the 
progress  and  liberty  of  a  considerable  portion  of  the  human 
race.  Each,  in  its  sphere,  is  subject  to  difficulties  and  trials, 
not  participated  in  by  the  other.  The  interest  of  civilization 
and  of  humanity  require  that  the  two  should  be  friends.  I  have 
always  known  and  accepted  it  as  a  fact,  honorable  to  both  coun 
tries,  that  the  Queen  of  England  is  a  sincere  and  honest  well- 
wisher  to  the  United  States.  I  have  been  equally  frank  and 
explicit  in  the  opinion  that  the  friendship  of  the  United  States 
toward  Great  Britain  is  enjoined  by  all  the  considerations 
of  interest  and  of  sentiment  affecting  the  character  of  both. 
You  will  therefore  be  accepted  as  a  minister  friendly  and  well- 
disposed  to  the  maintenance  of  peace  and  the  honor  of  both 
countries.  You  will  find  myself  and  all  my  associates  acting  in 
accordance  with  the  same  enlightened  policy  and  consistent 
sentiments ;  and  so  I  am  sure  that  it  will  not  occur  in  your  case 
that  either  yourself  or  this  Government  will  ever  have  cause  to 
regret  that  such  an  important  relationship  existed  at  such  a 
crisis. 


292  THE  MAKTYB'S  MONUMENT. 

A  few  hours  after  writing  this  brief  speech,  Abraham 
Lincoln  received  the  bullet  of  his  assassin,  and  never 
spoke  again.  His  last  act  was  an  endeavor  to  soothe  the 
resentment  of  his  countrymen  against  a  nation  whose 
governing  classes  had  seized  a  time  of  sore  trial  to  treat 
this  country  with  arrogant  contempt,  and  to  impress  upon 
that  nation  the  necessity  of  mutual  respect  and  mutual 
forbearance  if  they  desired  the  continuation  of  friendly 
relations  between  the  two  countries.  The  reader  of  the 
foregoing  pages  will  already  have  thought  that  such  was 
a  fitting  close  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  career.  We  mourn  him, 
but  it  is  for  ourselves  we  sorrow,  not  for  him  ;  for  he  had 
fulfilled  a  great  destiny  and  grandly  absolved  himself 
from  his  solemn  duties.  It  was  from  a  full  and  rounded 
life  that  the  martyr  to  his  country  and  to  freedom  was 
suddenly  called  away,  leaving  behind  him  the  priceless 
memory  of  a  Government  conducted  in  the  spirit  of  his 
own  noble  words,  "  With  malice  toward  none,  with  char 
ity  to  all,  with  firmness  in  the  right  as  God  shall  give 
us  to  know  the  right."  This  land  must  indeed  be  looked 
upon  as  blessed  above  all  others  if  we  see  soon  again  an 
other  President  so  wise,  so  just,  so  gentle,  and  so  good. 


INDEX. 


PAQB 

Abolition  of  Slavery,  Proclamation  Proposing 100 

Abolition  of  Slavery  in  District  of  Columbia,  Message  on 105 

Adams,  Minister,  Instructions  to 53 

Advance,  Order  for  Naval  and  Military ,  .  94 

Albany,  Speech  in  the  Assembly  Hall  at 23 

Aliens,  Proclamation  with  regard  to 180 

Aliens,  Rights  of 230 

Amnesty,  Proclamation  of 244 

Amnesty,  Defining  Proclamation  of 258 

Arbitrary  Arrests 06 

Arkansas,  Reorganization  in 250 

Army  Orders < 94,  95 

Blockade,  Proclamation  of 51 

Border  States,  Slavery  in 119 

British  Minister,  Reply  to 291 

Buffalo,  Speech  at '21 

Call  for  75,000  Men 50 

Cameron  and  Cummings  Affair,  Message  about 113 

Canada  Message 267 

Chicago,  Address  to  Deputation  on  Emancipation  from 133 

Christian  Commission,  Letter  to  Superintendent  of 179 

Cincinnati,  Speech  at 16 

Clergy,  Restraints  upon 248 

Columbus,  Speech  at 17 

Constitution,  Amendment  of,  Abolishing  Slavery 275 

Confiscation 88 

Confiscation  Bill,  Message  to  Congress  approving  of 122 

Colonization 88 

"          Address  to  Deputation  of  Negroes  about 126 


294  INDEX. 

PAGE 

Cooper  Institute,  Speech  at,  April,  I860 3-9 

Curtis,  General 226 

Deserters 193 

District  of  Columbia,  Abolition  in 105 

Emancipation,  Letter  to  Fremont  on 75 

Address  to  Committee  from  Congress  on 119 

"             Address  to  Deputation  from  Chicago  on 133 

Preliminar}'-  Proclamation  of. 136 

Emancipation,  Compensated 158 

Proclamation 175 

"            Letter  to  Mr.  Conkling  about 212 

"            in  Border  States 240 

Emigration 267 

Finances,  Message  to  Congress  on  the 173 

Finance,  Message,  18G3-4 233 

18G4-5 268 

Foreign  Relations,  Message,  1862 151 

Foreign  Policy 53 

Foreign  Ports,  Proclamation  regarding  United  States  Vessels  in. .  289 

Fort  Pillow 254 

Fremont,  on  Emancipation  Order,  Letter  to 75 

Fremont,  General 226 

Gettysburg  and  Vicksburg,  Speech  at  Washington  about 202 

Gettysburg,  Speech  at  Dedication  of  Cemetery  at 220 

Grant,  Gen.,  Letter  of  Acknowledgment  on  Capture  of  Vicksburg.  204 

Grant,  Letter  to  New  York  Committee  about 262 

Greeley,  Horace,  Letter  to. 131 

Great  Issue,  The 2 

Habeas  Corpus,  Proclamation  suspending  "Writ  of 140 

"            "         Proclamation  with  regard  to 217 

Halleck,  General 226 

Ilarrisburg,  Speech  at  the  Capitol  in 34 

Heinlzelman,  Letter  to  General  McClellau  about 109 

Hunter,  Letter  of  Instructions  to  General 76 

"        Declaration  of  Freedom 106 

"       Proclamation  disclaiming  the  Order  of. 106 


INDEX.  295 

PAOf 

Illinois,  Parting  Speech  at 13 

Inaugural  Address,  First 37 

"          Second 279 

Indianapolis,  Speeches  at 14 

Jackson,  General,  Habeas  Corpus 195 

Kentucky,  Reply  to  Governor  Magoffin,  of 73 

"         Letter  to  Mr.  Hodges,  on  Slavery  Policy 260 

Keyes,  Letter  to  McClellan  about 109 

London,  Letter  to  "Working  Men  of 179 

Manchester,  England,  Letter  to  "Working  Men  of. 177 

Maryland,  Mr.  Seward's  Reply  to  Governor  of 53 

"        Arbitrary  Arrests  in 96 

McClellan,  Appointment  of 91 

"         Letter  on  the  Plan  of  Campaign  against  Richmond  to. .     95 

"         Letter  to 102 

"         Letter  urging  an  Advance 102 

"         Letter  referring  to  Reorganization  of  Army  Corps 108 

"         Reply  about  McDowell's  Command  to 110 

"          Letter  about  McDowell  joining  Banks Ill 

"         Dispatch  about  Defeat  of  Banks  to 112 

"    .     Letter  about  Fitz  John  Porter's  Victory 112 

"         Letters  regarding  Change  of  Base 117,  118 

"         Letter  regarding  the  Number  of  effective  Men  in  the 

Army 126 

"         Letter  about  crossing  the  Potomac  to 141 

Dispatches  referring  to  Horses  and  Advance  on  Richmond  144 

"         Defence  of,  to  the  Citizens  of  Washington 145  ' 

McDowell 103 

Letter  to  McClellan  about  the  Command  of. 110 

McPheeters,  Rev.  Dr.,  Letter  about 248 

Message  to  Congress,  July  4,  1861 57 

Message  to  Congress,  Regular  Session,  1861-62 77 

Message  proposing  Gradual  Abolition  of  Slavery 100 

Message  on  Abolition  of  Slavery  in  District  of  Columbia 105 

Message  to  Congress  approving  Confiscation  Bill 122 

to  Congress,  Dec.  1,  1862 148 


296  INDEX. 

PAOB 

Message  to  Congress  on  the  Finances 173 

Message  to  Congress,  1863-4 .». . .  229 

Message  to  Congress,  1864—5 263 

Military  Courts 85 

Missouri,  Dispatch  to  Governor  Gamble 182 

Missouri  Delegation,  Letter  of  Reply  to  Charles  Drake 224 

Missouri,  Letter  of  Instructions  to  General  Schofleld ' 222 

Morrill  Tarriff 20 

National  Loan 80 

Negroes  in  Rebel  Armies 281 

Neutrality,  No  more   288 

Newark,  Speech  at 28 

New  York,  Speech  at  the  Astor  House 24 

NCHV  York,  Reply  of  Mr.  Lincoln  to  Mr.  Fernando  Wood 27 

Nomination.  Reply  to  Committee  announcing 11 

Nomination  to  the  Presidency,  Acceptance  of 12 

Peace,  Message. 278 

Philadelphia,  Speech  to  the  People  of 31 

"  Speech  in  Independence  Hall 32 

Pittsburg,  Speech  at 19 

Pittsburg  Landing,  Thanksgiving  for  Victory  of 104 

Prisoners  of  State,  Executive  Order  about 97 

Proclamation,  Fall  of  Sumter 49 

"  Blockade 51 

"  Abolition  of  Slavery 100,  136,  175 

11  Aliens 180 

"  Amnesty 244,  258 

"  Foreign  Ports,  United  States  Yessels  in 289 

"  Habeas  Corpus 140,  217 

Hunter 106 

Thanksgiving 104,   204,   218,  221 

Reconstruction 245 

Reinforcing  Forts 59 

Reorganization,  Speech  after  Fall  of  Richmond  on 283 

Sanitary  Commission,  Address  at  Washington  Fair,  for 252 

"  "  Speech  at  Baltimore  Fair  for 252 


INDEX.  297 

PAOK 

Schofield,  Letter  of  Instructions  to  General 183,  222 

"        Letter  about  relieving  General 224 

Secession,  Letter  to  North  American  Review  on 249 

Seward,  Reply  to  Governor  of  Maryland 53 

Seymour,  Governor,  and  the  Anti-Draft  Riots 207 

Sherman's  March,  Message 274 

Slavery,  Gradual  Abolition  of 100 

"       Policy  in  regard  to 260 

Steele,  General,  Letter  about  Reorganization  in  Arkansas  to 250 

Steubenville,  Speech  at v 18 

Sumner,  General,  Letter  to  McClellan  about 109 

Sumter,  Fort 58 

Sunday,  Letter  as  to  Observance  of 146 

Taussig,  Letter  from  Mr.  James 184 

Thanksgiving  Proclamation 104 

Thanksgiving  Proclamation,  Victories  of  Gettysburg  and  Vicksburg  204 

Thanksgiving  Proclamation 218 

Thanksgiving  for  Victory  at  Chattanooga 221 

Trenton,  Speech  in  the  Senate  Chamber  at 28 

"       Speech  in  the  House  of  Assembly  at 30 

Unconditional  Emancipationists 182 

Unconditional  Union  Men 212 

Utica,  Address  to  the  People  of 23 

Vallandigham,  Letter  to  Mr.  Erastus  Corning  about 187 

11            Letter  to  the  Committee  demanding  the  Recall  of. .   197 
Virginia  Convention,  Reply  to  Committee  of  the 47 

"Washington,  Speech  to  Mayor  and  Common  Council  on  Arrival  at.  36 

"            Address  to  Citizens  of 139 

Wood,  Fernando,  Address  to  Mr.  Lincoln  in  New  York 26 

Letter  with  regard  to  Amnesty  to 171 

Wool,  General 103 

Workingmen's  Association  of  New  York,  Reply  to 255 

World,  Newspaper,  of  New  York,  defends  Action  of  the  Slave  States  206 

"     advises  its  Readers  to  arm  themselves ...  207 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 


LOAN 

•B 

This  book  is  due  on  the  la 
on  the  date  to  A 
Renewed  books  are  sub) 

•^ 

DEPT. 

st  date  stamped  below,  or 
vhich  renewed, 
ect  to  immediate  recall. 

REC'D  LO 

1  
&    .IAN  17  1358 

•J  Dec  *  *HK      i 

tfdf«f>gfc    ^ 

^7    JOO 

pr-»   .^ 

*—    f   f"  ^^"^i  * 

LD  21A-50m-8,'57 
(C8481slO)476B 


General  Library 

University  of  California 

Berkeley 


